/;~.. , {....- ~-..;...(_

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The product of 30 years’ effort, Texas Post Offices By County by John J. Germann and Myron R. Janzen is now available on a CD‐ROM produced by Lyle Boardman. All of the files are provided in searchable PDF format. Every post office which ever existed in Texas from the Spanish era onward is listed, in its current county and with all opening and closing dates. All are pinpointed on 255 county maps (including Greer County), complete with the railroads and waterways that were vital to the establishment of so many of the state’s communities and stores which these offices served. The origins of the names are supplied, where identifiable, along with the names of all of the postmasters for each office to date, plus a sketch of each county’s history. These five files are collected together by county and individually. There are two very large statewide lists as well. One records all of the postmasters in the history of the state, alphabetically. The other inventories in alphabetical order all of the post offices that ever opened their doors, or tried to, in Texas; this particular file is presented not only in PDF format but also as an Excel spreadsheet, to allow for personalized sorting and printing according to the wishes of the user. This is a most valuable reference for historians of Texas, postal and otherwise, and for genealogists. For further information please email the author at: [email protected]. The price of the disc is $45 plus $2 postage, payable by PayPal at the above email address, or by check to John J. Germann / 12102 Whittington Dr. / Houston, TX 77077‐4911,.

Spring 2010 1 Spring 2010 Volume 41, Number 1 Whole Number 241

IN THIS ISSUE:

Air Accelerated Mail between the United States and Egypt, 1927-1945 La Posta: A Journal of By Richard W. Helbock ...... 9

American Postal History The Postmasters General of the United States Website: www.la-posta.com XLV. Albert Sydney Burleson, 1913-1921 By Daniel Y. Meschter ...... 19 Publisher: Richard W. Helbock Associate Editors: Henry Berthelot Tom Clarke Rod Crossley Michael Dattolico Worcester, Massachusetts Dennis H. Pack Robert G. Schultz Wesson Time-on-Bottom (TOB) Duplex Hand Cancelers: An In-depth Chronological Survey of Advertising & Circulation Manager: Cath Clark the X-Type Killers, Part 1 COVER: Iconic images of the United States.and By Robert J. Trachimowicz and Egypt provide a thematic backdrop for a few cov- David J. Simmons ...... 24 ers illustrating carriage by air mail during the pre-war and World War II era. Richard Helbock examines the varying rates and routes used to link the two nations in the 1927-1945 period.San Hampshire County West Virginia Post Offices Francisco image by Rich Niewiroski Jr. By Len McMaster...... 37 La Posta: A Journal of American Postal History is published four times a year with issues mailed on or about the 20th of March, June, September and December. Persons desiring infor- mation on manuscript submittals or subscription should e-mail or write La Posta c/o All About Mail, 33470 Chinook Plaza, Suite Philadelphia Rail Markings - the Trains 216, Scappoose, OR 97056, [email protected] By Tom Clarke ...... 47 or Telephone in Australia: 612-6645-1829

Opinions expressed in articles appearing in this journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. La Posta cannot be responsible for Chaplains in the Philippines: the accuracy of any information printed herein. Blockade Mail By Michael Datollico ...... 56

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Post Offices of McCreary County, Kentucky U. S. A. - $25.00 per annum (4 issues) By Robert Rennick ...... 81 (digital edition only) CANADA - $33 (US) per annum OVERSEAS - $65.00 per annum airmail An digital only subscription is available for Also, Assorted News and Comments $12.50 worldwide 2 Whole Number 241 LA POSTA Benefactors & Sustaining Subscribers La Posta Benefactors are those persons contributing $50 or more for their subscription. Benefactors recog- nize that the La Posta journal, along, with its books and e-books, are a vital force that helps build and sustain interest in American postal history. Benefactor and Sustainer contributions go beyond just supporting the journal and help fund our research and publishing endeavors. We would like to give our special thanks to the following individuals for contributions above and beyond:

Joseph J. Adamski David C. Collyer Robert Keatts Rev. Elwood S. Poore Raymond Agren Michael P. Corriss Jon E. Krupnick Robert Quintero Albert Aldham Rod Crossley William O. Kvale Robert G. Rose Gary Anderson Richard F. Curtin Russell Lang Henry B. Scheuer Ted Bahry J. Leonard Diamond Dennis J. Lutz MD Paul C. Schroeder Rex J. Bates Elwyn J. Doubleday Millard Mack Larry R. Sell Henry F. Battestin Jr. Robert M. Ebiner Richard Malmgren Dr. Michael Senta Robert Beasecker Alyce Evans Larry McBride Timothy M. Sheehan John Beirne Edward Fisher R.J. Randy McEwen Gus Spector M.D. Kevin Belmont Michael Goldstein Col. Richard Morain Rex H. “Jim” Stever Dr. Steven J. Berlin Ted Gruber Burnham S. Neill Robert Stoldal John Bigart Kenneth L. Hamlin Larry Oliver W. L. Strauss William E. Brooks Gary G. Hendren Alan Parsons Mike Tacha Mike Brown B. Clyde Hutchinson Richard F. Pesot Jeffrey Wallace John A. Cheramy James H. Inverarity George Pinyuh Ronald A. Wankel Walter S. Clarke Gordon E. Katz John A. Pollard Owen L. White

The following individuals and institutions have contributed financial assistance to La Posta in excess of their subscriptions and we are proud to list them as our Sustaining Subscribers. We are indebted to them for their generous support. Without it La Posta could not continue to exist.

Kirk Andrews Norman Elrod Robert G. Metcalf Anita T. Sprankle Dennis K. Austin James W. Faber Steven Miedziak Stanley Spurgiesz William H. Bauer Joseph M. Farkas Lynn I. Minneman John A. Steele Robert A. Beall Richard Farquhar John Edwin Moffatt Seymour B. Stiss John E. Beane MD Ronald W. Finger Steven R. Morehead Gregory H. Stone Stan Bednarczyk Sidney Fingerhood James Moses David L. Straight Britain A. Beezley Kenton Forrest E. F. (Al) Mueller Howard P. Strohn William R. Beith Dale Forster David Mui Marc Stromberg Bary D. Bender Myron Fox John G. Mullen James R. Stultz Henry J. Berthelot Ernest E. Fricks James P. Myerson Bob Summerell David Bize A.E. Gaddy Eric A. Nelson Robert D. Swanson Thomas V. Boettger William Gracie Ray L. Newburn Jr. Harvey S. Teal Eppe Bosch Raymond S. Hadley William A. Nix The Postal History Foundation Charles F. Boubelik Larry J. Haller James K. Oliver Norman Tjeltveit Deane R. Briggs M.D. LTC John T. Hardy Jr. Robert Omberg Don Tocher Roger S. Brody Wayne Hassell Dennis Pack Allan Tomey Dan Brouillette Dr. Edwin J. Helitzer John E. Panek Thomas P. Unterberger Chip Brown Karl E. Hellmann Norman H. Pence Tim Wait Mrs. Gloria P. Brunelli Terence Hines Hans Pohler Charles S. Wallis Jr. Dr. Kenneth E. Burden Todd A. Hirn, Stephen Prigozy John Weigle Maurice M. Bursey Reginald L. Hofmaier Toivo R. Rannikko David Wessely Arden D. Callender Jr. Don L. Hofsommer Robert D. Rawlins Ernest G. Wheeler Thomas E. Caton Robert Hohertz Thomas S. Richardson Kenneth L. White Thomas E. Chastang Dick Keiser Norman N. Ritchie Louise Wile c/o Alexander & Co. C. Robert Chow Lucien S. Klein Hal Ross Kirk Wolford Robert C. Clark Jr. Daniel M. Knowles M.D. Steve Runyon Raymond G. Woodman Giles R. Cokelet Mr. James J. Kotanchik A. J. Savakis John Wright Bob Coradi George Kramer Allan Schefer James Zuelow Thomas E. Corning Alfred F. Kugel Steven Schmale Vince Costello Eliot A. Landau Schmitt Investors Ltd. Roger D. Curran Howard Lee Robert G. Schultz Raymond A. Currier James E. Lee Joseph Sedivy Matt Dakin Brian P. Levy Edwin H. Shane James P. Doolin Rev. David C. Lingard Charles G. “Terry” Shaw Lee Drickamer Richard Londo Dan Sherman Joe Edinger Larry Dean Maddux Lawrence Sherman, M.D. Craig Eggleston Richard Martorelli James E. Shew David M. Ellis Bernard D. Mayer Jr. Thomas H. Smith Spring 2010 3 Publisher’s Page Our Thanks to You—Dear Friends and Supporters Cath and I have been holding our breath for the past few months. After we had taken a hard look at the financials, attempted to explain in print why changes were neces- sary, and then opted for the new quarterly format, we knew that the decision whether La Posta would survive or perish was up to you. I am relieved to report, as these lines are written in late February, that your sup- port has been overwhelmingly positive. Sub- scription renewals have been as strong as ever, and we are heartened by your many notes of gratitude that La Posta will be stay- ing in print. In addition, a few subscribers have made very generous financial contri- butions to our continued operations. In short, we are We are pleased to introduce two new multi-part re- chuffed by your response and will continue to do our search projects with this issue. Robert Trachimowicz very best to meet your expectations. and David Simmons have long been students of the distinctive Wesson Time-on-Bottom postmark Thank you! handstamps used at Worcester, Massachusetts. They Since this is our first issue to be produced and distrib- have graciously allowed us to publish their report on uted to all subscribers in both a printed and digital for- the X-type killers used at the post office, and we present mat, we would like to call your attention to a new policy the first of two instalments in this issue. Len McMaster regarding the publication of articles. Quite simply, since has prepared a well-illustrated history of the post of- the digital edition is largely free from space, or page fices of Hampshire County, West Virginia, and we begin number, limitations, we will publish some articles and his three-part report in this issue. material only in our digital edition. Content listings for Michael Datollico provides us new information on both the printed and digital editions will indicate mate- postal service available to the American troops trapped rial available in only digital format in italics with page in the Philippines by the Japanese army during the early numbers of 81 and higher. No articles will be pub- months of World War II. His research has uncovered lished in only the digital format without the express the unique role played by army chaplains in aiding ser- consent of the author. We are pleased to launch this vicemen to send messages through the blockade. Tom new feature with publication of Robert Rennick’s lat- Clarke—now enjoying his first winter back home in est in his series on Kentucky Post Offices: McCreary Philadelphia after so many years teaching in Dade County. County Florida schools—continues his history of Phila- Our expanded digital edition will also be home to se- delphia rail markings. Dan Meschter details the more lected interactive postal history advertising opportuni- important activities of Albert Sydney Burleson, who ties. For example, please see John Germann’s beauti- was Postmaster General of the U.S. during the First fully illustrated color ad on the “inside cover” location World War, and I offer a brief exploration of the air of the current digital edition for his new CD-ROM mail rates and routes applicable to correspondence book Texas Post Offices by County. The ad contains between the U.S. and Egypt from 1927 through 1945. a direct link to John through which you may ask ques- All in all, a rather diverse menu of postal history sub- tions about the book or place an order. We anticipate jects for our first quarterly La Posta. further uses of such interactive features that should improve postal history opportunities and benefit the hobby. 4 Whole Number 241

But remember dear readers, there is always room for kee Nation,” and, “The Manhat- more diversity and new voices in future issues. Why tan Project and Beyond.” Ad- not consider joining our merry band of authors? We ditional pieces will follow (http:/ would love to know what interests and excites you in /www.yudu.com/albums/items/ the hobby. Cath and I would be absolutely delighted to 122079). If you have any sug- hear from you if you’ve been thinking of sharing your gestions or requests for inclu- specialty, and we would be more than happy to assist sions in this section of the La you in crafting your ideas into an article. Posta Library, please let us know. If you would like to contribute an article you’ve One final note concerns a new section launched within published or a copy of an exhibit you’ve displayed, we the La Posta Publications Library on YUDU. Called would be happy to help you post it. “Postal History Free Thoughts,” this section will con- tain articles—many of which have previously been pub- That’s a wrap for this time. Please keep in touch. We lished in La Posta—that have been augmented by the love to hear from you, and sharing your ideas can only addition of color images and are being made available make us a better publication. absolutely free for use on-line or downloading through YUDU. Three articles are already available: Gerald Boarino’s postal history of the US Marines in Haiti from 1915-1934; “The Disappearance of the Chero-

The product of 30 years’ effort, Texas Post Offices By County by John J. Germann and Myron R. Janzen is now available on a CD-ROM produced by Lyle Boardman. All of the files are provided in searchable PDF format. Every post office which ever existed in Texas from the Spanish era onward is listed, in its current county and with all opening and closing dates. All are pinpointed on 255 county maps (including Greer County), complete with the railroads and waterways that were vital to the establishment of so many of the state’s communities and stores which these offices served. The origins of the names are supplied, where identifiable, along with the names of all of the postmasters for each office to date, plus a sketch of each county’s history. These five files are collected together by county and individually. There are two very large statewide lists as well. One records all of the postmasters in the history of the state, alphabetically. The other inventories in alphabetical order all of the post offices that ever opened their doors, or tried to, in Texas; this particular file is presented not only in PDF format but also as an Excel spreadsheet, to allow for personalized sorting and printing according to the wishes of the user. This is a most valuable reference for historians of Texas, postal and otherwise, and for genealogists. For further information please email the author at: [email protected]. The price of the disc is $45 plus $2 postage, Spring 2010 5

Maurice Bursey [#215 covers, Civil War N.Carolina POSTAL HISTORIANS ON LINE — [email protected] Raymond Buse [Cincinnati & Clermont Co., OH p.h.] If you would like to join this list in future issues of La — [email protected] Posta, send us a note via e-mail to James W. Busse [CA: San Diego Co. p.h.] — [email protected] [email protected]. If you are already listed, Arden Callender [U.S. banknote issues] — [email protected] Joseph Campagna [MT, Greece, Italy, Vatican, Turkey p.history] please take a moment to insure that your email ad- — [email protected] dress is correct. Rocco Caponi [OH:Akron, Summit Co, 2c Circular Die postal history (U429) — [email protected] Murray Abramson [commercial US airmail 1924-1941] Gary Carlson [machine cancels] — [email protected] —[email protected] Glenda & John Cheramy [Dealers; Canada] — [email protected] Joe Adamski [SD, CT] — [email protected] Larry Cherns [Mostly pre-1954 postally transmitted covers and p.cards Jim Alexander [TX: Waco Village, McLennan, Bosque, Coryell counties] w/ interesting messages in English from anywhere] — [email protected] — [email protected] American Philatelic Research Library — [email protected] Robert Chisholm — [Dealer: postal history] — [email protected] Gary Anderson [US Doanes & ND postal history] Bob Chow [Colorado] — [email protected] — [email protected] Douglas Clark [Railway Mail] —[email protected] Kirk Andrews [Expositions, OR, WA, WI] —[email protected] Tom Clarke [Philadelphia] — [email protected] Dennis Austin [WA,OR,ID] — [email protected] Walter S. Clarke [Florida Territorials; Interesting on-cover cancellations on Ted Bahry [Wake & Midway Isl, Benzie Cty, MI] — [email protected] Scott # 10 & 11] — [email protected] Debbie Baker [Midwestern p.h., APOs]—[email protected] Louis Cohen [Kentucky postal history] — [email protected] Mark Baker Enterprises [Dealer CA & NV postal history etc.] Norman Cohen [US #210 on cover] — [email protected] Web: goldrushpaper.com — [email protected] Giles Cokelet [Montana postal history, Greenland] — [email protected] Bob Baldridge — [Wisconsin p.h.] [email protected] David C. Collyer [General US, Texas, USS Texas] Alan Banks [Missouri] — [email protected] — [email protected] Mike Baranoski [Michigan p.h.] — [email protected] Robert W. Collins [Korean War & “Collins” pms]— [email protected] Gary Barranger — [email protected] David M. Coogle [Dealer, Postal History, Nutmeg Stamp Sales] Robert Beall — [email protected] — [email protected] John Beane, MD [West VA] — [email protected] Bob Coradi [Prexies, baseball, advertising] — [email protected] Robert Beasecker [MI postal history] — [email protected] Vince Costello [US fancy cancels, postal history, auxiliary marks] Stan Bednarczyk [IL: Chicago Streetcar markings] — [email protected] —[email protected] Joe H. Crosby [Oklahoma & Indian Territory; U.S. Despatch Agent John Beirne [Navals, RPO, AK] — [email protected] covers, 19th c fancy cancels, college cancels] — [email protected] William R. Beith [Eastern Oregon, OR Doanes]—[email protected] W.H. “Tom” Crosby — [email protected] Kevin Belmont [SW Arkansas, West Pointers on stamps] E. Rod Crossley [West coast military, Spruce Production Division, — [email protected] Ventura county CA & CA RPO] — [email protected] Bary D. Bender [Dealer p.c.’s & p.h.; + collects WA: Columbia Co] William T. Crowe [CT: Waterbury & Fairfield County] — [email protected] —[email protected] Steven Berlin [interrupted mail, wreicks, crashes, robbery, terrorism] Frank Crown [GA postal history, confederates]—[email protected] — [email protected] Roger D. Curran [US 19th C cancels] — [email protected] Henry Berthelot [train, shipwrck mail & US postals] Richard Curtin [CA covers & CA express] — [email protected] — [email protected] Matt Dakin [Mississippi Postal History] — [email protected] John Boal [California only]—[email protected] Mike Dattolico [La Posta Associate Editor] — [email protected] Tim Boardman [Washington PH, photos, books & maps] Joseph M. Del Grosso — [email protected] — [email protected] James L. Diamond [Spanish American war; US possessions] Joe Bock [US Airmail 1935-1950 & Arizona town cancels; U.S. WWII] — [email protected] — [email protected] James P. Doolin [19th c p.history, “Columbus” named towns John Bloor [World early airmail; air & airmail-related Cinderellas France, —[email protected] Canada, U.N.] — [email protected] Doubleday, Elwyn [Dealer; collects NH & NY & #210’s on NY & Maine] Paul Bofinger [[email protected]] — Newfoundland, NH DPOs & —[email protected] th 19 century covers, Concord NH & Merrimack Co. NH covers Dresser, George [TX: Brazos, Grimes, Wash.Co.s] Eppe Bosch [WA: Stevens, Pend Oreille, Whitman Co.s; WI: Portage, — [email protected] Waupaca, Wood Co.s] — [email protected] John Drew [AZ/NV WellsFargo & Express] — [email protected] James Boyden [WWI military, WW censored] Lee Drickamer — [email protected] — [email protected] Geoffrey Dutton [2d Bureau postal history] — [email protected].; Frank Braithwaite [1902 issue, M.O.B., N.Y., “V” & “X” rate markings, Website: http://neddog.com/stamps B. Harrison on cvr-Sc#308, 622,694,1045—[email protected] Loring Ebersole [Ohio postal history, WWII APOs, Rt 66 postcards] Bruce Branson [CA:Inyo, Mono, & Siskiyou) — [email protected] — [email protected] Fern Eckersley [OR postal history] [email protected] Deane Briggs, MD [Florida Postal History] — [email protected] Leonard M. Eddy [OK & Arkansas p.h.]—[email protected] Roger S. Brody [Series 1902, Prominent Americans] L. Steve Edmondson [Tennessee] — [email protected] — [email protected] Craig Eggleston [Philippines, US Possessions] — [email protected] Daniel Broulette US, S.Africa, India, Vietnam]—[email protected] Barry Elkins [PA-Philadelphia County]—[email protected] Brown, Chip [WV ph; 1903 uses of 1902 definitives on cover] Mike Ellingson [North Dakota Territory; machines] — [email protected] — [email protected] Brown, Edward [parcel posts & plate blocks] David Ellis [MI postal history] — [email protected] — [email protected] Empire State Postal History Society — http:/www.esphs.org Evert Bruckner [MT: Phillips, Blaine, & Valley Co’s] Darrell Ertzberger [NC, VA, RPO, RFD] — [email protected] —[email protected] Paul Eslinger [MT, Dakota, WY Territory & Grant Co, ND] Kenneth Burden [Washington & CA DPOs]— [email protected] — [email protected] Gloria Burleson [civil war, letters, advertising] Glenn Estus [New York] — [email protected] — [email protected] 6 Whole Number 241

James Faber [WY, NW OH, Hancock Co, ME, No. WI] Gary Hendren [Missouri PH] — [email protected] — [email protected] Henry Higgins [Florida; TN] — [email protected] John Farkas [US Possessions] — [email protected] Jack Hilbing [Illinois stampless; machine cancels] —[email protected] Wayne Farley [West Virginia P. H.] — [email protected] Terence Hines [Hanover, NH & #E12-21 on cover] Richard Farquhar [seapost, RPO, Span-Am War, 1898] — [email protected] — [email protected] Todd Hirn [PO Seals of Peru, Japan, & the Middle East; Volusia Co. FL] Dan Fellows [WI, WWI, perfs, Scotland, Knights of Columbus, Sc.210 —[email protected] & http://www.poseal.com Canal Zone Military PH] — [email protected] Reginald L. Hofmaier [Oklahoma p.h.] — [email protected] Edward Fergus [Western Express]—[email protected] Robert Hohertz — [email protected] Norm Ferguson [Navy covers –NS Savannah] Joseph Holleman [postal history] — [email protected] — [email protected] Brad Horton [U.S. Postals & philatelic literature] Ronald W. Finger [US Navy CV’s, WWI & WWII APOs & Feldpost] — [email protected] — [email protected] John Hotchner [20th c aux, Xmas seals tied; Spec deliv; wreck&crash Louis Fiset [Prexies, WWII civilian internment]—[email protected] mail; some FDCs]—[email protected] Ed Fisher [MI; 4th Bureau: ½c-Hale, 1 ½c Harding, ½c postage due] B. Clyde Hutchinson [US 1861 issue; CA postal history] — [email protected] — [email protected] Ken Flagg [Used postal stationery: US, CZ, PI; WWII APOs, Postwar Stan Jameson [dealer] — [email protected] APOs] — [email protected] Jerome Jarnick — [email protected] Jane King Fohn [TX WWI air branches; Medina Co, TX; US#1043 Stefan T. Jaronski [Ithaca NY; northeastern Montana; Confed. States (9c Alamo)] — [email protected] military mail] — [email protected] Jim Forte [Dealer] — [email protected] & Cary E. Johnson [Michigan p.h.; Railway, Waterway & Streetcars] Website http://postalhistory.com — [email protected] Myron Fox [WWI/WWII U.S. & German military & censored mail; postwar Gerald Johnson [3c 1851; auxiliary markings] — [email protected] occupations] — [email protected] William H. Johnson [Florida p.history] — [email protected] Gene Fricks [Literature, TN & NJ PH] — [email protected] Robert D. Jones [Nebraska postal history, esp. DPOs] Bob Friedman [Dealer-worldwide p.h.]— covercorner.com; — [email protected] [email protected] Rodney Juell [Series of 1922] — [email protected] Don Garrett [Mississippi] — [email protected] Barton D. Kamp [Massachusetts postal history] — [email protected] Douglas Gary [Dealer] — [email protected] Gordon Katz [Maryland & DE postal history, postal history on postcards] Bob Gaudian [Connecticut Postal History] — rgstamper @aol.com — [email protected] Charles Gherman [Prexies, postal cards, liberty covers] Robert Keatts [Walla Walla Co., WA p.h.] — [email protected] — [email protected] Dick Keiser [Dealer-military/censord covers, revenues] John Germann [Texas DPOs; Navy ship cancels] — [email protected] — [email protected] Rodney Kelley [Arkanas, esp Conway & Pope counties] Ray Getsug [Minnesota postal history, literature] —[email protected] — [email protected] Don Glickstein [postal cards used in Alaska] — [email protected] Kelvin Kindahl [MA: Hampshire Co] — [email protected] Peter Glover [Pre-Pearl Harbor WWII related] —[email protected] Lucien Klein [Prexies, OR: Marion & Grant Co] — [email protected] Michael Goldstein [RPOs, streetcars, WA,D.C. pms] Ron Klimley [Florida WWII, machine cancels, Tampa Spanish American — [email protected] War] — [email protected] Max Gors [Dakota Territory & Tripp Co.] — [email protected] Eric Knapp [Alaska postal history] — [email protected] John Grabowski [1902 Series, 1938 Prexies, 1940 Famous Am’s, 1941 Daniel M. Knowles [NY: Suffolk Co, Long Island; 3c 1861-auxiliary Def. Issue, 1944 8c Transp, 1980s-90s Transp Coils] markings] — [email protected] — [email protected] Kent Kobersteen [US Scott CII, unusual commercial usages, unusual Ken Grant [Wisconsin postal history] — [email protected] off-cover stamps] — [email protected] James Graue [Airmail] — [email protected] William Kolodrubetz [classic US post office seals] John Grosse [Texas] — [email protected] —[email protected] Maurice Grossman — [email protected] Paul Konigsberg [Museum of Postal History, NYC] Ted Gruber [Nevada] — [email protected] — [email protected] Richard Guarelia [Aviation, Long Is. postalhistory — [email protected] Van Koppersmith [Alabama & Mississippi p.h.] — [email protected] Arthur Hadley [Indiana, flag cancels] — [email protected] Jim Kotanchik [Franklin Co., MA & PO Seals] — [email protected] Raymond Hadley [postal cards, Wesson; Connecticut] George Kramer [U.S. west; western Europe, telegraph] — [email protected] — [email protected] John Hale — [email protected] Jon E. Krupnick [Pacific Flights 1936-46 & US Pacific Possessions] Hall-Patton, Mark [CA: Orange Co; Bridge-related p.o.s, NV aviation] — [email protected] —[email protected] George Kubal [Dealer] — [email protected] Larry Haller [Handstamped Flag cancels] — [email protected] Alfred Kugel [20th Cent. Military Mail, US Possessions & Offices Abroad] Ken Hamlin [Montana postal history, photographs, pcs & ephemera] — [email protected] — [email protected] William O. Kvale [MN Territorials] — [email protected] John T. Hardy, Jr. [US postal cards (pre-1910) flyspecks; Philippines] Charles LaBlonde [WWII mail to & from Switzerland & Red Cross] — [email protected] — [email protected] Robert Dalton Harris [Dealer. Collects Congo; Telegraph] Dick Laird [Doanes from IN, KY, TN, SC] — [email protected] — [email protected] Lawrence Laliberte [Poughkeepsie, NY p.h.; Transport Airs on cover] Ron Harmon [Florida PH] — [email protected] — [email protected] Labron Harris [Dealer, postal history; collects First Bureaus] Eliot A. Landau — [U.S. Registry, U.S. w/ Lincoln Stamps] — [email protected] — [email protected] Wayne Hassell [Dealer; collects US Marines, Wisconsin & Michigan] Robert M. Langer [Boston ad covers; Carroll County NH] — [email protected] — [email protected] Karl Hellmann [US covers, postcards, postal history]. Peter B. Larson [Idaho postal history] — [email protected] — [email protected] Ken Lawrence — [Crystal Palace World’s Fair, 1853 New York, First Robert Henak [IA-Carroll,Calhoun,Jones Counties] Issue Nesbett Envelopes] — [email protected] — [email protected]; Howard Lee [U.S. 4th Bureau Issue, 17c Wilson; Prexy 4 ½ cent] Steve Henderson [military postal history] — [email protected] — [email protected] Spring 2010 7

James E. Lee [Literature Dealer. Collects Lake & McHenry Co, IL] John G. Mullen [WA; flags; Ntl Air Mail Week; Snohomish,Skagit, Island —[email protected] & website: www.jameslee.com County] —[email protected] Leslie W. Lee [WI p.history & WI Doanes] — [email protected] Andrew Murin [Colorado postal history]—[email protected] Ron Leith — [email protected] Jim Myerson [US Navy & pioneer airmail,WA-Franklin] Ron Lessard — [email protected] — [email protected] Brian R. Levy [NY State postal history] — [email protected] Larry Neal [Holmes & Coshocton Counties, Ohio (US, World-wide to Matthew Liebson [Ohio PH; Licking Co., Doanes, stampless] 1955; Greenland; Stained Glass on Stamps]—[email protected] — [email protected] Burnham Neill [FL-Miami/Dade DPOs on PPCs; some MS, MO] David C. Lingard [Florida-4 bars, Doanes, RPO, Adv. & most anything] — [email protected] — [email protected] Bruce Nelson [Illus. pioneer postcards (1870-1898): govt postals & W. Edward Linn [OR; rural stations; NAMW; Airfield dedications, Western private — [email protected] States Precancels & Perfins] —[email protected] Howard Ness — [email protected] James R. Littell [balloon, rocket, Zeppelin post]— [email protected] Ray Newburn [CO pre-wwII Pan Am Pacific Div; 4th & 5thBureaus Jerry Login [US 19th C penalty envelopes w/ stamps added] (all rates] — [email protected] — [email protected] Dan Nieuwlandt [S. California,WWII, Belgian Congo] Nicholas Lombardi [US 2d Bureau issue + Registerd Mail] —[email protected] — [email protected] Bill Nix [OR & WA (Skamania)]— [email protected] Bud Luckey [Siskiyou Co. CA; northern CA]—[email protected] Jim Noll — [computer postage] [email protected] Michael Ludeman [TX Postal History, USPOD Forms & Documents] Joe Odziana — [email protected] — [email protected] James Oliver [VT, Canada, Scandinavia]—[email protected] Len Lukens [Oregon p.h. & trans-Pacific airmail] Larry Oliver [Advertising covers, medical-related] — [email protected] — [email protected] David Lyman [World postmarks on covers or piece] Robert Omberg [Idaho p.h.] — [email protected] — [email protected] Kevin O’Reilly [NWT, Yukon & Labrador; US APOs in Canada] Max Lynds [Aroostook Co., Maine p.h.] — [email protected] — [email protected] Millard Mack — [email protected] Osborne, Cathleen [Bells] — [email protected] Scott Mader [OR/CA] — [email protected] Steve Pacetti [1861 1c, Hawaii, Prexies, CO postal history] Larry Maddux [OR postal history; all over ad covers] — [email protected] — [email protected] Dennis Pack [Sub-station postmarks; Utah ph, USCG] Richard Malmgren [Hawaii] — [email protected] — [email protected] Robert Markovits [dealer. Collects world-wide Special Delivery & US Ray Palmer [OR: Yamhill, Polk Counties] — [email protected] officials, US5, 536 , C38 C46] —[email protected] Dr. Everett L. Parker [Pitcairn, Canada, Maine]— [email protected] Craig Martin —[Dealer. Collects naval covers, So. Cal PH] Alan Parsons [US, UN, NY: Steuben, Schuyler & Chemung counties] — [email protected] — [email protected] Ken Martin—[email protected] Norman Pence [OK & Indian Territory] — [email protected] Peter Martin — [email protected] Randy Pence [Yangtze River Patrol; WWI medical] Richard Martorelli [Military, Postage Due] — [email protected] — [email protected] Chester Masters [WA: Paquetboat Cancels, and Clallam & Jefferson Richard Pesot [ID, Mauritius, Tibet, U.S. 1869, Classic U.S.] Co]—[email protected] — [email protected]] Richard Matta [MD:Montgomery Cty & PA: McKesesport] Paul E. Petosky [MI; US & Can p.o.s on pcs] — [email protected] — [email protected] Bernard Mayer [Oklahoma] — [email protected] Website: http://postmarks.grandmaraismichigan.com/ David Mayo —[email protected] Kenneth A. Pitt [Dealer. Collects L.I., NY, DPOs to 1870, Pioneer post Robert McAlpine [US & Foreign]— [email protected] cards] — [email protected] Larry McBride [U.S. town & DPO cancels] — [email protected] Hans Pohler [Ohio postal history, Germany, military] David McCord [Doanes, Type E 4-Bars + AK,WA,WY,NV,OR covers] — [email protected] —[email protected] John Pollard [[email protected]] — Censored (civil & military) R.J. McEwen [Eastern Oregon] — [email protected] Elwood Poore [DPOs, Auxiliary Markings] — [email protected] Chuck & Jan McFarlane [Ausdenmoore-McFarlane Stamps] Thomas Post [IL-Railways,U.S. Canada, Luxembourg] — [email protected] — [email protected] McGowan, George [Newfoundland & NY] Charles Powers — [email protected] — [email protected] Stephen Prigozy [Telegraph & electrical covers] — [email protected] Bob McKain [Pittsburgh, Alaska Hiway & AK APOs] Robert Quintero [Detroit Mail Boat/Detroit River Sta 1895-Current] — [email protected] — [email protected] Michael E. Mead [Britannia Enterprises – dealer] Robert D. Rawlins [naval covers] — [email protected] — [email protected] Mark Reasoner [Ohio] [email protected] Jim Mehrer — [Dealer. Collects expo’s, Navy ships]—mehrer@postal- N.L. Rasmussen [WY Territory, VA; Tunisia,] history.com & website http://www.postal-history.com —[email protected] Doug Merenda [Columbians on cover, Columbian Expo] Frank Reischerl [US postal history] — [email protected] — [email protected] Thomas Richards [Movie star mail]— [email protected] Mark Metkin [Idaho postal history] — [email protected] Martin Richardson [OH & IL ph, off sealed, Local posts] website: http://www.mindspring.com/~metkin/idahoindex.html — [email protected] Minneman, Lynn [Portland, Oregon area] — [email protected] Thomas Richardson [North Carolina P.H., APOs] Harvey Mirsky [US 1847 issue] — [email protected] — [email protected] John Moffatt [Stamps-world] —[email protected] Al Ring [Arizona postal history] — [email protected] John Moore [US Exposition/World’s Fair]—[email protected] Norm Ritchie [CO, UT, AZ & NM p.history + all US/Canada Richard Moraine [Naval Covers] — [email protected] postmarks]— [email protected] Steve Morehead [Colorado postal history] — [email protected] Linda Roberts [UT: Park City PMs, PCs, stocks,Tokens,stereoviews, Alan Moser [Iowa postal history] — [email protected] bottles, etc] — [email protected] James H. Moses [postal censorship]—[email protected] William B. Robinson [Dealer; collects WI postal history] Darren Mueller [WI-Fond du Lac Co p.history] —[email protected] —[email protected] Julius Rockwell [Alaska] — [email protected] 8 Whole Number 241

Gilbert M. Roderick [Dealer. Downeast Stamps. Collects Straight line Rex H. “Jim” Stever [Republic of Texas] — [email protected] stampless, cameo advertising, Maine p.h.] — [email protected] Seymour B. Stiss (Chicago & IL postal history)—[email protected] James E. Rogers [VT machine canels, NH & ME flags] Robert Stoldal [Nevada] - [email protected] —[email protected] Greg Stone [19th C postal history, esp MI] — [email protected] Robert C. Roland [post cards, postal history, U.S.] David L. Straight [Pneumatic mail; St. Louis, USPO forms] — [email protected] — [email protected] Romanelli, Paul [bkjacks on cvr; VT, ME p hist.] Bill Strauss [Texas] — [email protected] — [email protected] Howard P. Strohn [CA: Monterey & San Benito Co] Robert G. Rose [New Jersey p.h.] — [email protected] — [email protected] Hal Ross [Kansas Territorials & postmarks] — [email protected] Marc Stromberg [Blood’s Despatch, CA: Alameda, C.Costa co.s; Art Rupert [Rural Branches & Stations, CPO] — [email protected] Ships of Pearl Harbor & Clipper Mail]—[email protected] Roger Rydberg [Colorado postal history] — [email protected] Bob Summerell [General PH, postal stationery, early cinema/theatre Bill Sammis [US Express Company labels, stamps & covers] deltiology] — [email protected] — [email protected] Greg Sutherland [Dealer: Freeman’s philatelic literature] William Sandrik [Disinfected mail, Austrian Lloyd] — gregfreecoax.net http://www.gregfree.com — [email protected] Robert Svoboda [Montana postal history]— [email protected] Ken Sanford [Air Crash, Train, & Ship Wreck Covers] Bob Swanson [WWI p.h.] — [email protected] & —[email protected] www.swansongrp.com/posthist.html A.J. Savakis [Ohio-machines] — [email protected] Bill Tatham [California] — [email protected] Robert Scales [western states, crashes, Doanes, Expos] Michael Taugher [So Cal-LA, Ventura, San Diego counties; Scandanavia —[email protected] Baltic) — [email protected] Allan Schefer [U.S. foreign mails 1861-1870; fancy cancels, 3c US 1861, Stephen T. Taylor [Dealer: US postal history]— [email protected] Bicycle ad cvrs & pcs, France 1871-75 ceres issue, prex] www.stephentaylor.co.uk —[email protected] Gerry Tenney [Wash,Franklins & Prx, Westch &Ulster Co NY, C23’s com Henry B. Scheuer .[U.S. FDCs, pre-1935] — [email protected] use; Cancels on banknots off cover,— [email protected] Steve Schmale [Dealer.Collects Placer, Tahoe real photo postcards] The Collectors Club — (New York) [email protected] — [email protected] David Thompson [Wisconsin p.h.] — [email protected] Dennis W. Schmidt [US Off postal stationery/covers] Don Thompson [Stampless NH, MA, FL] — [email protected] — [email protected] James Tigner, Jr. [RPOs, ship cancels] — [email protected] Fred Schmitt [Dealer] — [email protected] & Don Tocher [19th Century US] — [email protected] http://www.fredschmitt.com http://www.postalnet.com/dontocher/ Robert Schultz [Missouri postal history]— [email protected] Allan Tomey [frontier military forts (post Civil War), war of 1812, esp www.civilwar.org Naval]— [email protected] Joseph Sedivy [1909 cners-cover&card; RPO, Chi stcars] Jonathan Topper [Airmails, RPOs, APOs]— [email protected] —[email protected] Bob Trachimowicz [Worcester, Mass. P.history; Wesson Tobs of Larry R. Sell [postal history/banknotes,1861,1902’s] Worcester] — [email protected] — [email protected] William Treat [CO: Clear Creek, Gilpin & Jefferson counties 1850s- Mike Senta [Alaska postal history] — [email protected] 1930s] — [email protected] Michael Serdy [Western Express] [email protected] Kenneth Trettin [IA: Floyd Co.&Rockford] — [email protected] Norman Shachat [Phila. & Bucks Co. PH] — [email protected] Tom Turner [Alabama postal history] — [email protected] Edwin H. Shane [Philippines, WWII military PI, masonic, Computers] Tom Unterberger [WI: Douglas County] — [email protected] — [email protected] Jorge Vega-Rivera [Puerto Rico: 19th Century Maritime Mail & Spanish Robert Shaub[PA:York Co; MD:BaltimoreCo— [email protected] American War 1898-1902] —[email protected] Terry Shaw [Alaska; Early Airmail] — [email protected] George P. Wagner [US p.history-interesting uses-small banknotes to Richard Sheaff [Illustrated ad covers; NH-Cornish Flat; MA-Ballardvale] modern;2nd & 4th Bureau, Wash-Frank, Prex, Liberty] —[email protected] & www.sheaff-ephemera.com — [email protected] Timothy M. Sheehan [NM Territorial ph]—[email protected] Tim Wait [IL: Boone Co, Wa Bicentenneal 1932, Spec Deliv Bicycle Steve Sheppard [World’s Columbian Expo] — [email protected] Airmail Special Deliv combo] — [email protected] Dan Sherman [settlement of post-civil war West] Jim Walker [NJ: Corvells Ferry Stamp Club. Collects Huntondon Co, NJ — [email protected] & Bucks Co, PA postal history] — [email protected] Lawrence Sherman [WWII-Foreign Destinations; APO at Washington W. Danforth Walker [MD: Baltimore, Howard Co., British Commonwealth Monument 1943; Bolivia & Peru up to 1940; Chili Centennial issues, postal history & stamps]— [email protected] 1910l] — [email protected] Charles Wallis [OK & Indian Territory] — [email protected] David J. Simmons [Israel,Palestine,Gaza; U.S. Seaboard, Worcester Lauck Walton [Early US machine cancels, unusual usages on postal MA] — [email protected] cards, C&D, county & postmaster cancels] — [email protected] Ed Siskin [U.S. Colonial, WWI, Free Franks] – [email protected] Ron Wankel [Nebraska & WWII APOs on #UC9] Richard Small [Machine cancels, post offices] — [email protected] — [email protected] Ron Ward [Maryland PH] — [email protected] & http://hometown.aol.com/rsmall9293/mcfmain.htm Jim Watson [Mendocino/Lake Co. CA cancels] — [email protected] R. J. “Jack” Smalling [IA DPOs; baseball autogrs] Wayne Worthington [US Army in Canal Zone] — [email protected] — [email protected] John S. Weigle [CA: Ventura Co; interrupted mail; officially sealed mail of Chet Smith [US post offices; branches & stations] — [email protected] world, aux] — [email protected] Jack M. Smith, Sr. [Texas DPOs; TX Doane Co-ordinator] Rich Weiner [18th & 19th C letters w/ high content value; NC stampless — [email protected] Covers] — [email protected] Thomas Smith [Mississippi, DPO & RMS] —[email protected] Larry Weinstock [Dealer-Western postal history; collects NW p.history, Fred Smyithe — [email protected] 2nd Bureau issue use] — [email protected] Gus Spector [PA ad covers & postal history] [email protected] David Wessely — [email protected] Jessie Spector [US postal history] — [email protected] Ken White [AZ, NM, & France] [email protected] Anita Sprankle [Northcentral PA DPOs] — [email protected] Robert B. Whitney [New London, CT; Brevard Co, FL; Benton Co., OR Ken Stach [Dakota & Nebraska territories] — [email protected] postal history] — [email protected] Kurt Stauffer [WWII POW mail & military]— [email protected] Douglas Wick [Dealer-Hedemarken Collectibles]—[email protected] John Steele [IL postal history] — [email protected] Continued on page 68 Spring 2010 9 Air Accelerated Mail between the United States and Egypt, 1927-1945

Figure 1 Postmarked Cairo, Egypt, 5 March 1926, this cover was franked with 20 mills postage that over paid the 15 mills UPU surface rate to the US and a 24-cent DeHaviland Biplane (US #C6) to pay the three zone US air mail rate to San Francisco with March 24th and 27th postmarks of New York and San Francisco respectively. Although philatelic in nature and addressed to a well-known philatelist of the day, it is never-the-less a legitimate example of air accelerated mail from Cairo to San Francisco from a very early date. By Richard W. Helbock this as an excuse to land army forces at both ends of the canal to insure its protection. ew, if any, nations of the globe can lay claim to being more strategically located than Egypt in a The Egyptian Army was sent out to oppose British oc- Fgeopolitical sense. Tucked into the lower right cupation, but they were quickly defeated. A puppet gov- corner of the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt lies at the junc- ernment loyal to Great Britain was installed under the ture of the great Eurasian land mass with Africa. Inter- pretext of returning political stability to Egypt. Britain’s continental ocean transport between Western Europe Chief Representative in Egypt at the time took the view and Asia has long been constrained by that narrow pas- that political stability required financial stability, and he sage known as the Suez Canal that links the Red and launched the country on a program of long term invest- Mediterranean Seas. Egypt controls the Suez, so who- ment in Egypt’s productive resources, above all in the ever controls Egypt dominates shipping across much of cotton economy, the mainstay of the country’s export the planet. earnings. This marked the beginning of British military occupation of Egypt that lasted until 1936. A globally The Suez Canal was constructed by a private company strategic position is, however, far from being the most and opened to shipping on November 17, 1869. The significant characteristic of Egypt. Five thousand years majority of shares in the company were owned by the ago the Nile Delta was home to one of humanity’s ear- French, but, after several years of operation that showed liest great civilizations, and architectural relics from that great promise, the British bought into the company in a glorious past have fascinated Western man through the major way. In 1882 tribal rivalries among Egyptians ages. Scholars and tourists continue their pilgrimages threatened operation of the canal, and the British used to Cairo in order to study, explore, photograph and mar- 10 Whole Number 241

vel at the Sphinx, the pyramids, the temples and the sion to Bagdad, and northern Persia (Isphahan, tombs. Americans were no exceptions, and many ex- Teheran, etc.), and to places as far south as amples of air mail covers that have survived from the Bushire, at the rate of 15 cents an ounce or pre-war era carried messages from travelers to the fraction thereof, in addition to the international folks back home. rate of postage required, the air mail fee and the postage to be paid by postage stamps affixed to In addition to mail from tourists and scholars, Ameri- each piece. Mail matter intended for dispatch by can missionaries, government officials and business- the Cairo-Bagdad Air Mail service should bear in men also visited Egypt and used the expanding inter- the upper left-hand corner of the envelope or national air mail services of the 1930s. Generally speak- cover, a blue label with the words “By Air-Cairo- ing, air mail from individual travelers seems to be the Bagdad,” or in lieu of the label to be prominently marked as indicated so that articles in assorting most common source of air mail from the early 1930s, may not be overlooked. with business mail taking over by the late 1930s and becoming dominant by 1941. Pre-war examples of air All mail articles for this service will be dispatched mail between Egypt and the US are fairly common, to New York for onward transmission from that exchange post office. The London office has but the variation in air mail rates and changes in rout- furnished a table regarding the details of the ing—particularly those required by the onset of hos- service, reading as follows: tilities after 1939—make for an interesting story and a The London office gives notice that it should be challenging collecting specialty. clearly understood that the Air Service is an Pre-war Air Mail Service to and experimental one and is liable to modification or suspension at any time in accordance with from Egypt military requirements. The British were responsible for developing the earli- It should be noted that there was no advantage through est scheduled air mail service to include Egypt. In 1922 this service by Americans wishing to expedite mail to the Royal Air Force began carrying mail by air from Egypt from the United States. Cairo was merely the Cairo to Baghdad in order to expedite mail to and from western terminus of an air route from Iraq, and the British forces then occupying Iraq under the League advantage lay with sending mail to and from Iraq and of Nations mandate. The service was also of great the Persian Gulf (figure 2). benefit to private and commercial mail as it saved about seven days on the old sur- face route. Interestingly, the U.S. Post office De- partment carried an an- nouncement of this air ser- vice in the March 1922 edition of the Monthly Supplement to the US Official Postal Guide. US postal patrons were advised that they might take advantage of the ser- vice as follows: This department has accepted the offer of the London office to accept ordinary and registered letters, postal cards, printed matter, samples of merchandise and Figure 2 Carried by Britain’s RAF from Bagdad to Cairo on the Desert Air service, this commercial papers, registered February 1925 cover received a Cairo transit handstamp before being except parcel post carried on to Switzerland by surface transport. packages, for transmis- Spring 2010 11

The RAF route over the southern part of the Syr- ian Desert was marked by plowing a track through the rocky ground across it, which the pilots could fol- low visually. Emergency landing areas were marked out at intervals of about twenty miles, by plowed circles; and under- ground fuel tanks were in- stalled at two of these landing grounds, about 100 miles from each end of the route.

The Desert Air Mail ser- Figure 3 Weighing between ½ and 1 ounce, this October 1927 cover from Oak- vice was operated by the land to Egypt paid double the 10¢ transcontinental air rate plus the 3¢ sea post to RAF with great efficiency London plus the 4¢ per ounce air surcharge to France where it probably caught a from June 1921 until Im- train to Marseilles—the air mail service having been suspended for the winter on perial Airways assumed September 30th—and another steamer to Port Said control in January 1927 and extended to eastern terminus to Basra. The in- don to Cairo was now available to American postal tention at that time was to extend the Cairo-Baghdad patrons for a surcharge of five cents per half ounce. mail route through to Karachi using aircraft with This figure was reduced to four cents per half ounce greater range, but the plans were upset by interna- on June 5, 1930, but it was subsequently increased to tional politics. The Persian government refused per- six cents per half ounce on June 1. 1939 (Wawrukiewicz mission for regular services to over fly their territory, & Beecher, page 134). Figure 4 illustrates a cover and it was to be two years before the projected Cairo- from State College, PA, postmarked March 25, 1939, Karachi service could be extended beyond Basra. and endorsed Par Avion/By Air Mail via London to Port Said, Egypt. A five cent Prexie pays the surface The earliest notification to US postal patrons of an air rate on England and two 6¢ Eagle Airs pay double the service to expedite mail addressed to Egypt appeared air surcharge from London to Egypt. in the Postal Bulletin (No. 14714) of June 1 1928. Mail dispatched from London at 6 AM on Monday Egyptian postal patrons were able to accelerate mail could be flown to Marseille, France, for a postage destined for the U.S. beginning April 14, 1929, when a surcharge of four cents per half ounce. Such mail surcharge of 17 mills was announced as the rate re- would offer the advantage of overtaking the preced- quired to transport a 20 gram letter by air from Egypt ing ordinary mail. to London. This air surcharge would have been in ad- dition to the prevailing 15 mills necessary to pay the In fact US postal patrons had been taking advantage UPU surface rate for a letter weighing up to 20 grams. of “London to the Continent” air service to acceler- The air surcharge was reduced to 13 mills on Decem- ate delivery of their mail since 1925. Although Egypt ber 1, 1929, thereby reducing the total postage on a was not listed by the POD as one of the countries to cover weighing 20 grams or less to the U.S. to 28 mills which the this service would accelerate delivery, the (figure 5). The air surcharge of 13 mills from Egypt to cover shown in figure 3 suggests that at least some London remained unchanged until March 1938 when Americans were aware that air mail could expedite the All-Up Empire scheme did away with air surcharges their mail. on mail between British Empire destinations. There was Imperial Airways Ltd. commenced service on the Lon- one brief five-month promotion from October 1930 don-Karachi air mail route by way of Cairo on March through February 1931 when the surcharge was re- 30, 1929. The US POD announced in the June 29, duced to ten mills, but no examples have yet been seen 1929, Postal Bulletin that air mail service from Lon- applied to mails destined for the US. 12 Whole Number 241

Figure 4 State College, PA, to Port said, March 25, 1939, franked 5-cents trans-Atlantic surface rate plus twice the six cent per half ounce air surcharge for transport by air from London to Egypt.

On November 1, 1931, the surface rate on mail ad- This arrangement covering US domestic air transport dressed to the United States was increased to 20 mills was revised on September 1, 1937, when it was an- and the total postage on a basic weight letter from nounced that henceforth all air mail for the United Egypt to the U.S. became 33 mills. Most air accelerated covers from Egypt to the US dating from be- fore 1937 are franked 33 mills (fig- ure 6). On May 15, 1930, Egyptian postal authorities reached an agreement with the U.S. whereby Egyptian mail could be carried by US do- mestic airlines to destinations within the United States. An air surcharge of 30 mills was to be charged in addition to the 15 mills surface rate and envelopes were to be marked “By United States Domestic Air Mail.” (Sears, page 46) Figure 5 Cairo to New York February 8, 1930, the endorsement was intended to request air service on the London-India Imperial Route and the 28 mills franking paid the 15 mills UPU surface rate to US plus 13 mills air surcharge. Spring 2010 13

its destination in just eight days as evidenced by the New York arrival backstamps. Table 1 summarizes Egyptian air mail rates to the United States for the pre-World War II era. Compa- rable rates applying to mail from the United States to Egypt may be found on page 134 of Wawrukiewicz and Beecher, U.S International Postal Rates, 1872- 1996. Readers may note that air mail service from Cairo to Amsterdam was also available from November 1931 to September 1937 at a surcharge of 25 mills for the first 20 grams. The author has not seen any examples of covers to the US carried at this rate, but it is quite possible that they exist and he would Figure 6 Cairo to New Orleans, March 10, 1936. franked 33 mills that paid be delighted to hear from readers 20 mills UPU surface rate to US plus 13 mills air surcharge for transport by Imperial Airways to London. Red bars over air mail ettiquette were applied who have examples of such. in London and indicate that there was no air mail service beyond that point. States would travel by Imperial Air- ways to London, thence by sea to New York for onward transport by U.S. domestic airlines as far as San Francisco. In other words, there would be no direct sea mail link to New York from Egypt with onward US air transport. The surcharge for the newly defined service would be 30 mills and would be applied to the ten-gram weight steps. (Sears, page 72) On March 1, 1938, the sur- charge for this service was reduced to 25 mills for letters up to 10 grams. Figure 7 shows a registered air mail cover postmarked Alexandria on May 24, 1939. Addressed to New York, it was franked with a 40 mills 1933 air mail and 5 mills King Farouk. The 45 mills would have paid the 20 mills UPU surface rate Figure 7 Alexandria to New York, May 24, 1939, plus the 25 mills air surcharge, but with air service to London the prevailing registry fee of 20 mills and registration. The UPU would not have been covered. surface fee was 20 mills, air Never-the-less, the cover reached service to London was 25 mills and registry was 20 mills. Short paid 20 mills, but not charged. 14 Whole Number 241

Table 1 A summary of air mail surcharges applied to mail receiving accelerated delivery to addresses in the US by the various routings available prior to Great Britain’s entry into World War II in 1939. Based on information pubplished by John Sears, The Airmails of Egypt. Wartime Air Mail Service to and dressed to British Empire countries was subject to an from Egypt air surcharge of 45 mills for 15 grams. Air mail was (temporarily) no longer accepted for destinations out- Germany launched its blitzkrieg invasion of Poland on side the All-Up scheme. (Sears, page 77). On Octo- September 1, 1939, and two days later Great Britain ber 1st, Imperial announced that it would provide air and France declared. Air mail connections between mail service to European destinations only as far as the United States and Egypt were about to enter a Marseilles, and on October 23 the airline released a period of great turmoil as air carriers scrambled to more comprehensive plan that included an air mail maintain routes that avoided combat zones. surcharge of 30 mills for up to 10 grams from Egypt to Pan American Airways had initiated the first trans- airports along the UK-India and UK-South Africa Atlantic air mail service on May 23, 1939, and Impe- routes. rial Airways launched its own trans-Atlantic service to New York via Montreal on August 5th. The U.S. POD responded to Pan Am’s trans-Atlantic route by announcing a new all inclusive air mail rate of 36 cents per half once on mail addressed to Egypt from the United States. Figure 8 illustrates a cover post- marked Boston on Sep- tember 1, 1939, franked with prexies making up the 36-cent air mail rate to Cairo. Imperial Airways went on an immediate wartime footing on September 3rd. Figure 8 Boston to Cairo postmarked September 1, 1939—the day Germany invaded The All-Up scheme was Poland. The 36-cent franking included Pan American trans-Atlantic air service plus cancelled and air mail ad- BOAC onward air to Cairo. Censored and redirected in Cairo. Spring 2010 15

Unfortunately, both the Italian and French services were short-lived since both fell vic- tims to political events of June 1940. On May 10th German armored units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and sur- round British and French units that had ad- vanced into Belgium. The British Expedi- tionary Force (BEF) and many French sol- diers were subsequently evacuated from Dunkirk. On June 5th, German forces out- flanked the Maginot Line to attack the greater French territory. Italy declared war on France on June 10th. The French gov- ernment fled to Bordeaux, and Paris was occupied on June 14th. On June 22nd, an armistice was signed between France and Germany, and all Air France air services Figure 9 Cairo to Hawaii by were suspended. way of Marseilles. Egyptian Air routes between Egypt and Great Brit- censor tape along left edge. ain via the Mediterranean were terminated June 10th. All air accelerated mail for the Figure 9 illustrates a cover postmarked Cairo in May UK was flown south twice a week to Durban and 31, 1940 addressed to Hawaii. It is franked with the thence carried north by ship. Air accelerated mail ad- 50 mills 1933 air mail, censored and backstamped with dressed to the United States followed the same route a Marseilles transit marking. It appears that the 50 to England and was then sent on to New York by sea. mills was intended to pay the 30 mills air surcharge to The air surcharge applicable for this service was 30 Marseilles, with surface mail to New York and be- mills per 10 grams. yond to Hawaii. The total postage required on an air accelerated 10 In addition to the service described above, Imperial— gram letter to the US was 50 mills from June 10th 1940, soon to become BOAC through a merger with British but on August 15th Egypt increased the basic UPU Airways—also announced an alternative that would surface rate to 22 mills for 20 grams thus raising the provide air service to London, sea transport to New total postage to 52 mills (figure 10). This route and York and US domestic service beyond. The air sur- rate remained in operation throughout the war years. charge for this service was 55 mills for mail addressed The comparable routing and rate from the US to Egypt to the US and 90 mills for mail addressed to Hawaii. was acknowledged by the US POD in the Postal The UPU surface rate of 20 mills was also required. Bulletin of November 1, 1941, providing an air sur- (Sears, page 79). charge of 45 cents per half ounce for air transport In December 1939, the Italian airline—Ala Littoria— from Cape Town to Cairo. This surcharge was low- began offering an air service from Egypt that con- ered to 20 cents per half ounce on July 18, 1941. nected with Pan American’s trans-Atlantic service at On September 5, 1940, BPAC and KLM began pro- Lisbon. The air surcharge for service from Cairo via viding complete air mail service from Egypt to the Lisbon to New York and beyond was 125 mills. The United States by the long distance eastward route 20 mills UPU surface rate brought the total to 145 through Asia to Hong Kong and then by Pan mills for a 10 gram letter. American’s trans-Pacific clipper to San Francisco. The On May 16, 1940, Air France introduced a similar ser- air surcharge for this service was set at 100 mills for vice from Egypt that carried air mail through Marseilles the first five grams. and Lisbon to link up with Pan American’s trans-At- Three months later the same two airlines announced lantic service. The air surcharge for this service was service over the Horseshoe Route through Singapore, 50 mills for a letter up to 10 grams. on to Sydney via QANTAS, across the Tasman Sea by TEAL and thence to San Francisco via Honolulu to 16 Whole Number 241

but on May 25, 1942, a first day air mail service commemoration was held (Sears, page 92). The air mail surcharge was 75 mills for the first five grams, or 97 mills total postage on a single rate letter (figure 13). The Pan Am West African route re- mained in service throughout the war, and, along with the air-sea com- bination route via Durban, were the sole means of sending civilian air mail between Egypt and the US. Table 2 summarizes the compli- cated changes in routes and rates that applied to Egyptian air mail to the US from 1939 to 1942. Once again, see Wawrukiewicz and Beecher for the comparable table summarizing US to Egypt rates and Figure 10 Alexandria to Trenton, NJ, postmarked September 4, 1940. The 52 routes. Given the limited period of mills postage paid the 22 mills UPU surface rate plus 30 mills air surcharge operations that some of these routes to Durban, South Africa, and onward surface transit to the US. survived, collecting air accelerated mail examples from this international San Francisco. The air surcharge for mail addressed pairing of nations provides ample challenges for the to the US over this amazing route was 95 mills for the collector and postal history student. first five grams (figure 11). Mail addressed to Egypt from the US traveled the opposite direction on these trans-Pacific routes. The US POD announced that effective August 6, 1940, mail addressed to Egypt would be carried via Hong Kong or Singapore to Cairo at a comprehensive rate of 70-cents per half ounce (figure 12). Japan’s in- vasion of Southeast Asia and at- tack on Hawaii on December 7-8, 1941, terminated trans-Pacific air service on both of the routes. Pan American Airways inaugu- rated FAM 22 from Miami to West Africa by way of Brazil on Decem- ber 2, 1941. The Postal Bulletin of December 2, 1941, announced that air mail service was available over this route by way of Leopoldville and onward air to Cairo at a comprehensive rate of Figure 11 Port Said to New York postmarked May 4, 1941 and intended for 70 cents per half ounce. The Egyp- trans-Pacific routing but underpaid the 117 mills rate by five mills. Rated 13 tian government was not as quick centimes shortpaid and Due 3¢ US collected from the addressee. Egyptian to acknowledge this new air route, censor tape along left edge with hexagonal censor marking. Spring 2010 17

Figure 12 Kent, Ohio, to Cairo postmarked October 8, 1941, routed through San Francisco, trans-Pacific via Pan American Airways and on to Cairo via BOAC. Egyptian censor markings along lower edge.

Figure 13 Cairo to New York via Pan American Airways trans-Atlantic clipper in February 1943. This intra-company letter was franked at double the 75 mills per 5 gram air sucharge plus the 22 UPU surface rate. Egyptian censor marks and tape along left edge and US censor tape along right edge. 18 Whole Number 241

Table 2 Air routes and surcharges from Egypt to the US, 1939-1945. Based on information pubplished by John Sears, The Airmails of Egypt. Acknowledgment Sears, John, The Airmails of Egypt, 3rd edition, Pinner, Middsex, UK: by author, Reprinted 2008 (with Supple- Special thanks are due to John Sears for reviewing this ment) ans available from the author at 496 Uxbridge manuscript and helping the author avoid errors of omis- Road, Pinner, Middlesex, HA5 4SL, Great Britain. sion and comission. Wawrukiewicz, Anthony S. and Henry W. Beecher, U.S. International Postal Rates, 1872-1996, Portland, OR: References Cama Publishing Co., 1996. Boyle, Thomas H., Jr., Air Mail Operations During World War II, Mineola, NY: American Aier Maiol Society, 1998. Proud, Edward B., Intercontinental Airmails Volume Two Asia and Australia, Heathfield, East Sussex, UK: 2008 Spring 2010 19 The Postmasters General of the United States XLV. Albert Sydney Burleson, 1913-1921 He received his secondary education in local schools and attended Texas A. and M. College. He graduated by Daniel Y. Meschter from Baylor University in 1881 and received a degree Albert Sydney Burleson was the personification of an in law from the University of Texas at Austin in 1884. archetype Texan – proud of his heritage to a point of He opened a law practice in the state capital in 1885 arrogance with a strong sense of belonging. augmented by employment as Austin’s assistant city It began with his grandfather, Edward Burleson, Sr. attorney until 1889, followed by eight years as district (1798-1851) who was born in North Carolina with attorney. These positions implied an interest in parti- wanderlust in his feet. He first moved west to Mis- san politics. souri Territory and then back to Tennessee. In each He was elected to Congress in the fall of 1898 and place he cleared land, but moved on before working it. served in seven consecutive Congresses until resign- In each place he was elected an officer in the local ing on March 6, 1913 before taking his seat in what militia, raising his rank each time1. would have been his eighth Congress in order to ac- Edward Burleson arrived in Texas in 1830 bringing cept appointment as Postmaster General from the with him a solid reputation as a soldier and newly inaugurated Woodrow Wilson. Indian fighter. Early the next year he re- Serving as a Democrat from a deep south- ceived title to a league (three miles?) of land ern state through three Republican admin- along the Colorado River from Stephen istrations (McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft), Austin, Land Commissioner, whose policy Burleson was automatically a member of was to settle as many Americans in Texas the “Solid South” caucus that, acting in con- as possible to counter Mexican hegemony. cert for common purpose, was able to block This became the foundation of the Burleson meaningful civil rights legislation and to Family fortune, growing cotton with slave maintain the “separate but equal” doctrine, labor. Albert S. Burleson until President Truman integrated the armed Ed Burleson became first a military and later services following World War II. a political leader in the Texas independence movement. Burleson was known in the House as a progressive He proved his military skills were no illusion when he conservative with populist leanings in defense of agri- led Texas militia against Mexican units early in the culture and small business with which he sympathized, Texas Revolution. As commander in chief of the Texas being a large land owner himself. He maintained a Volunteers, he was fortunate not to be involved in the quiet, bluff demeanor, seldom entering into partisan ill-fated actions at Matamoros and the Alamo before debate. He supported Bryan in his campaigns for presi- joining forces with Sam Houston in 1836. He com- dent and his views on free silver and “soft” money. manded an infantry regiment at the decisive Battle of With Bryan’s failure to win election he threw his sup- San Jacinto. port to Wilson’s nomination and election. A scholar and He spent the next few years combining military lead- idealist now regarded as the first “liberal” president, ership with politics and economic development until in Wilson was reluctant to appoint members of Congress 1841 he was elected vice president of the Republic of to cabinet posts. Moreover, he was suspicious of Texas. He finished his service to Texas as president Burleson’s progressive credentials. Nevertheless, dur- pro tem of the Texas State Senate. ing his fourteen years in Congress, Burleson had made Albert S. Burleson was born in June 1863 in San many powerful friends, one of whom was Coil. Ed- Marcos, Texas, the son of Edward Burleson, Jr. (1826- ward M. House, a fellow Texan who was Wilson’s 1877) who was an officer in the Mexican and Civil closest adviser. In addition he had severed as Chair- Wars, politician, and wealthy farmer and Lucy Emma man of the House Post Office Committee and Chair- Kyle from another early Texas family. Albert, how- man of the Democratic caucus. He had kept a low ever, lost both his parents as a teenager, but was well enough profile hardly anybody could find reason to cared for by his numerous relatives. Nevertheless, he oppose his appointment as Postmaster General. Wil- was sensitive to the distinction and prestige of both son gave in to the pressure. the Burleson and Kyle families. 20 Whole Number 241

Burleson proved to have a thorough knowledge of how The first flights had mixed results. The southbound the Post Office Department worked and was excep- flight left New York and arrived in Philadelphia on time tionally active as Postmaster Genera. He put his im- where the mail was transferred to another plane with print on nearly every postal action that came before a new pilot who arrived in Washington in three hours him. Unfortunately his forward looking actions were elapsed time from New York. offset by a series of political missteps including viola- An inexperienced pilot took off twice from Washing- tion of civil rights, censorship, and opposition to union ton, getting disoriented the first time and crashing the organization. second so that the mail had to be sent to Philadelphia His notable accomplishments included the following: by train. The northbound mail was successfully flown from Philadelphia, but arrived in New York hours late. AIRMAIL SERVICE In spite of this inauspicious start, the Army’s airmail Burleson’s most exciting accomplishment was his cre- service successfully maintained a prescribed sched- ation of the airmail service for which Frank Hitchcock’s ule with few more than the predictable engine fail- experimental flights beginning on September 23, 1911 ures. laid the foundation. All that was needed to fly the mail was aircraft with the power and reliability to maintain The best customers of the airmail service were the daily schedules over intercity routes a hundred or more banking and financial industries that welcomed the miles long. potential for same day delivery of financial documents. It was not popular with the public who considered The Curtis Aeroplane Company’s combination of the twenty-four cents postage, including special delivery, best features of its “J” and “N” series trainers it was excessive compared to the two cents for regular mail building for the Army and Navy to produce the “JN” it was accustomed to paying. or “Jenny” series of biplanes in 1915 was timely. Later equipped with a 400 horsepower Liberty engine, the Burleson did make an inadvertent contribution to phi- JN-4 became the workhorse of the Post Office’s fleet, lately when the vignette on one sheet of the twenty- capable even of transcontinental service over the four cent bicolored stamp was printed upside down Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountains. creating the famous “inverted Jenny” variety. With the development of the JN-4, Burleson and his The Army terminated its agreement with the Post Second Assistant, Otto Praeger, could begin planning Office on August 12th after which the Post Office the introduction of airmail service over a route from operated the airmail service until February 1925 when New York to Philadelphia2. His next step was to de- air line companies took over carrying the mail under cide whether to have the Post Office operate the ser- contract. vice itself or to contract it to a private company. For PARCEL POST the present the Post Office had neither the funding to equip an airmail service nor enough pilots to operate Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock, responding to it. the demands of rural delivery patrons, is credited with enactment of the Parcel Post Act of August 24, 1912 As another government agency, however, it could look to take effect on January 1, 19133. The weight limit on to the Army as a kind of contractor since it was now parcels prior to this Act was four pounds at one cent taking delivery on hundreds of JN-4s and training pi- per ounce. The Act increased this to eleven pounds at lots to fly them. a minimum of five cents a pound plus one cent for The War Department was agreeable to fly the mail each additional pound for local delivery, increasing over for the Post Office because it would give their pilots eight postal zones to twelve cents a pound. The much badly needed experience in cross country navigation. reduced rate for local delivery made it practical for Burleson was able to announce the inauguration of farmers and ranchers to order groceries and supplies airmail service between New York City and Washing- from local venders and to have it delivered by mail. ton via Philadelphia to begin on April 15, 1918, later Since Burleson took office only a little more than two delayed to May 15th. months after its effective date, its initial administration fell to him. The Act gave the Postmaster General broad authority to adjust the weight limits, which he did with enthusi- asm. Being a large land owner himself, he sympathized Spring 2010 21 with farmers, ranchers, and small businesses in postal a pension. It also was the harbinger of employment zones 1 and 2 and agreed an eleven pound limit, while benefits yet to come. Nevertheless, fourth class post- acceptable for local use, was far too small for their master compensation remained tied to the value of needs. He rapidly issued orders increasing the weight business of the office as before. limit to twenty pounds in zones 1 and 2 that same year, MOTORIZATION fifty pounds for zones 1 and 2 the next year, and to 70 pounds for zones 1, 2, and 3 by 1918, a limit still used Next to establishing scheduled intercity air mail ser- by the USPS4. vice was Albert Burleson’s adoption of government owned and operated motor vehicles to replace horse In somewhat incidental adjustments to parcel post ser- and pneumatic tubes for handling mail, chiefly in larger vice, Burleson also oversaw the offering of insurance cities. However, there was nothing new about the use on parcels and collection on delivery (COD) for the of motor vehicles to move large volumes of mail be- convenience of vendors to assure payment for mer- tween branch and main post offices and to railway chandise by addressees5. depots. What was new was the vast increase in weight CIVIL SERVICE and number of parcels resulting from the introduction of parcel post service at the beginning of 1913. It was President Taft who placed the nation’s fourth Burleson’s contribution to the motorization of mail han- class Postmasters in the classified service by an Ex- dling was to establish a policy in 1914 for the Post ecutive Order6. This was a move Taft had pondered Office Department to own and operate the vehicles for some months and who no doubt consulted with rather than depend upon contractors for this service. former President Roosevelt and Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock. His order brought up to maybe fifty Neither could the pneumatic tube systems in Boston, thousand fourth class postmasters under its provisions. New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, and St. Louis However, not everybody was completely satisfied with keep up with the increased volume of letter mail since it, including the postmasters themselves when they the Philadelphia tube was installed in 1893. Nor could realized that all of them would have to take the Civil the tube canisters accommodate any but the smallest Service examination to determine their fitness to re- parcels flooding the postal system. Fortunately, main in office in spite of the fact that Civil Service Burleson had five years to fine tune his motorization status would give them protection from the uncertain- policy before all the pneumatic tube contracts simulta- ties of the patronage system. Some who had been in neously expired on June 30, 1918. office many years regarded it as an insult to their long SOLDIERS’ MAIL service and loyalty. Historians in their appraisals of the Wilson Adminis- Postal patrons in many small towns also objected be- tration generally emphasize its international aspects cause they often regarded the postmaster as an im- leading up to World War I (1914-1918). The War’s portant member of their community and protested the impact on the Post Office Department was relatively idea their friend and neighbor might be replaced by a minor since the Army now had an internal mail system stranger from the outside simply because he or she of sorts based on experience gained in the Spanish passed the examination. American War. In fact, since it did not appear certain Burleson, only having just having taken office himself, in the War’s first couple of years that the United States persuaded President Wilson to modify Taft’s order would commit troops for the defense of the Allies, requiring all fourth class postmasters to submit to the neither the Post Office nor the Quartermaster Corps fitness examination by exempting fourth class post- was fully prepared to receive, transport, and distribute masters whose annual compensation was less than mail to more than a million troops in France from June $180 a year. That served to reduce the number re- 1917 to November 1918. quired to take the examination substantially although So called “soldiers’ mail” was initially identified in its applicants to fill vacancies would still be required to first sorting and directed to a postal depot in Chicago. compete for appointment7. From there it was forwarded to the Quartermaster What nobody realized in 1912-13 was that in 1920 Corps at a port of embarkation where the Army took Congress would enact the Civil Service Employees responsibility for sorting it by the military unit to which Retirement System (CSERS) which after deducting 7½% from their salaries for five years entitled them to 22 Whole Number 241

it was addressed. Handling tended to suffer from the an increase in postage but as a kind of war tax pay- inexperience of the Army’s clerks, of whom there able to the Treasury. Its effect was to raise the letter never were enough to handle the volume of mail. rate to three cents for the duration of the War9. The two cent rate was restore by the Act of February 24, The worst of several problems was educating the public 191910. to use the soldier’s full address. In the Civil War a soldier’s regiment by state and number, such as “Pvt Then, in 1918 the government permitted the Post Of- John Jones, Pa 63rd infantry” that all the soldier’s fice Department to seize control of the telegraph, tele- friends and relatives usually knew was usually ad- phone, and cable companies and to operate them as equate. the United States Telegraph and Telephone Adminis- tration of which Burleson became chairman. Burleson The number of troops in the Spanish American War used this state of affairs to urge government owner- was small compared to either the Civil War or World ship one more time. He proposed a schedule of pay- War I. It lasted only a few months, and there were so ments out of revenues over twenty-five years that he few overseas destinations that the Quartermaster thought would make the wire communication industry Corps was able to organize a mail system that worked itself pay for its acquisition by the Government. Con- well. gress thought otherwise. It returned the wire services World War I with more than a million men and a myriad to their owners the next year and that was the end of of units comprising a complex organization was an- the matter. other matter. A letter addressed to. say, “Pvt. John Jones, 5th Div., Co. ‘J’” probably never would have THE OTHER SIDE been delivered because the 5th Division might have Wayne Fuller described Albert Burleson as an “am- included five to ten thousand troops and a dozen Com- bivalent progressive” - too conservative to join the pany Js distributed among a variety of units to which a Populist Party, but influenced by populist goals11. In- clerk had no clue as to which Company “J” he should deed, it is difficult to find a thread of consistency in his direct Private Jones’ letter. management. This inconsistency is most strongly re- Most problems relating to such things as parcels con- flected by students who named him one of the worst taining perishable goods or unwrapped magazines with postmasters general on the basis of his racial discrimi- insufficient postage, could be managed by regulations; nation, anti-labor stance, and restrictions on what he but it was not until near the end of the war that the considered disloyal publications without giving adequate Post Office finally inaugurated a publicity campaign weight to his post office improvements. to instruct the public how to correctly address soldier’s During the Taft Administration, Congress enacted leg- mail. islation that gave postal employees the right to affiliate with labor organizations and, by extension, to strike. WIRE COMMUNICATIONS On at least two occasions Burleson urged Congress Although he did not succeed in his proposals to ac- to repeal that law as disrupting postal operations. It quire the wire communications industry for the Post was, however, a time when organized labor was real- Office to operate, Burleson began a campaign for the izing its power. Burleson’s opposition earned him the government to purchase the telegraph, telephone, and disdain of postal employees. cable systems from virtually his first day in office. Their dislike may have been due also to his unwel- Government purchase of the telegraph companies was come grasp of postal operations, his forcefulness in originally authorized by the Act of July 24, 1866, re- imposing his personal prejudices on the Department, flecting the strategic role telegraphy played in the Civil and his adherence to Southern culture and traditions. War 8. He saw no reason not to add the telephone and His racial views were only to be expected of a third cable companies to that authority. generation Texas land owner dependant on black la- His failure to succeed in his recommendations to Con- bor. He reduced black employment to the lowest lev- gress seemed not to bother him as he came back with els he could, separated black and white workers, and the same proposals again and again. Nor did the esti- tolerated black postmasters only where unavoidable. mated purchase cost of two billion dollars deter him. Another example of Burleson’s inconsistency was With the advent of the War and its impact on Federal while he favored farmers and small business in his finances, among other things Congress imposed an liberalization of weight limits in the Parcel Post Ser- increase of one cent on first class mail, not so much as Spring 2010 23 vice, he focused on the Rural Delivery Service as a (Endnotes) place to impose economies intended to put the Post 1 See Vexler; Fuller, Wayne E., “Albert Sydney Burleson” Office on a self-sustaining basis. What seems to have and “Edward Burleson (1798-1851),” articles in American escaped him was that local merchants and rural pa- National Biography;’ Biographical Directory of the Ameri- trons depended on the delivery of parcels. can Congress, New York Times, November 25, 1937, for bio- He began by proposing putting the Rural Delivery Ser- graphical sketches of Albert S. Burleson. vice out to a private contractor to operate, thus elimi- 2 NYT, December 10, 1916. nating the expense of its salaried carriers. When Con- 3 37 Stst 550. gress declined to act on this proposal, he and his Fourth Assistant decided to revise the rural delivery system. 4 United States Domestic Postage Rates, 1789-1956, Post Office Department, Washington, D.C. They lengthened many routes, discontinued and re- routed many others and created chaos. Farmers were 5 Postmaster General Order No. 434, effective July 1, 1917. inconvenienced and small town merchants lost busi- 6 NYT, October 16, 1912. ness when a revised route bypassed their town. Mail 7 NYT, May 8, 1913. order companies saw a significant reduction in sales to rural customers. Congress tried to patch things up 8 14 Stat 1221. by appropriating additional money to restore service, 9 Act of October 3, 1917, 40 Stat 327. but Burleson refused to spend it. 10 40 Stat 1150. His most deadly sin in the eyes of modern detractors 11 Op. cit. was his use of Wilson’s Espionage Act of June 15, 1917 to deny mailing privileges to publications he con- sidered German propaganda or disloyal. He ordered postmasters to send anything illegal or suspicious they detected to the Washington office. With the end of the War he shifted his attention to pamphlets by political radicals such as Emma Goldman and Max Eastman. By any other name it was still censorship and a clear violation of the First Amendment. Unfortunately, this policy allowed Burleson’s succes- sor to revive a thirty year old law that prohibited the Post Office from carrying indecent, immoral, obscene, and similar literature. With Harding’s election to succeed Wilson in 1920, Available FREE on-line in the La Posta Burleson retired from public life. After making a post- Publications Library at www.YUDU.com War tour of Europe to promote Southern products such as cotton to its reviving economy, he returned to his home in Austin where he resumed management of his estate, engaged in banking, and took up gardening as a hobby. He died of heart disease on November 24, 1937 in Austin. In view of his accomplishments in office as Postmas- ter General on one side and his abuses of power on the other, it is impossible to reach a fair rating of his performance without emphasizing one at the expense of the other. To his credit must be added his full eight years in office in the face of numerous demands for his removal. It is thought this sufficient to entitle him to at least an average rating. 24 Whole Number 241 WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS WESSON TIME-ON-BOTTOM (TOB) DUPLEX HAND CANCELERS: AN IN-DEPTH CHRONOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE X-TYPE KILLERS By Robert J. Trachimowicz and David J. For both the Type 1A and Type 1B devices, WORCES- Simmons TER and MASS were depicted in concentric arcs in Introduction the upper half of the CDS. The bottom half of the CDS of both the Type 1A and Walter D. Wesson, of Providence, Rhode Island, ap- Type 1B devices contained two holes that accepted plied for a patent for his innovative duplex hand-can- and held interchangeable metal slugs. These slugs celing device with removable date and time slugs on represented the clock hour of use. In the vast major- June 17, 1881. The earliest known use (EKU) any- ity of the impressions reviewed for this survey, the left where of Wesson’s device is in Worcester, Massa- hand hole held a slug which represented the Hour (1 chusetts on July 2, 1881. Its style was designated by through 12) and the right hand hole held a slug which Ted Bozarth as the Type 1 device for Worcester. Type indicated Morning (AM), Evening (PM) or Noon / 1 devices were used exclusively with X-Type, or Midday (M). Since these slugs were changed many carved, killers. The latest known use (LKU) of a Type times during the day, some cancel impressions do show 1 device in Worcester was January 29, 1883. the slugs reversed, such as PM 6 rather than 6 PM. The Duplex Devices The Type 1A and 1B devices differ in the number of The device consisted of a wooden handle to which holes in the center of the CDS. A horizontal row of both a metal circular date stamp (CDS) and a shallow holes extended across the middle of the CDS that ac- cup were affixed in duplex fashion. The cup held cepted and held interchangeable metal slugs whose carved cork, wood and rubber killers. There were, in numbers represented the Month, Day and Year of use fact, two styles of Worcester Type 1 CDS devices in what has been described as a “pseudo-Quaker” produced and they are designated Type 1A and Type arrangement. The number of holes in this row differ- 1B (Figures 1A and 1B). entiates the two styles of Worcester Type 1 TOB can- cels. The device with four holes is called Type 1A and the device with three holes is called Type 1B. In both the Type 1A and Type 1B devices, the hole directly adjacent to the left side of the CDS ring held a single slug which represented the Month (1 through 12) and the hole directly adjacent to the right side of the CDS ring held a single slug which represented the year (81 or 82 but no 83). In the 4-holed, Type 1A device, the center pair of two holes held slugs Figure 1A Type 1A Device - Four Holes For Date Slugs which represented the Day of the month. In this pair, the left slug ______represented one digit (0 through 3) Copyright 2010 by Robert J. Trachimowicz and David J. Simmons Spring 2010 25 have been used. This equates to 60.7% total representation. On a yearly basis, the survey shows a use on 60.7% of the days in 1881, 60.0% in 1882 and 69.0% in 1883. Days and Hours of Postmarking During the time period covered by the survey, the Worcester Post Office op- erated seven days each week and TOB examples are recorded for each day. The distribution of the survey items is: Figure 1B Type 1B Device - 3 Holes For Date Slugs Sunday 25 Examples (4.60%) and the right slug represented one digit (0 through 9). Together, these digits represented the Days of the month Monday 98 Examples (18.01%) (01 through 31). Tuesday 79 Examples (14.52%) Wednesday 81 Examples (14.89%) In the 3-holed, Type 1B device, the single center hole Thursday 93 Examples (17.10%) held one slug which represented the Day of the month. Friday 78 Examples (14.34%) Ostensibly, this center hole would have held one digit (1 Saturday 89 Examples (16.54%) through 31) to represent the Day of the month. How- ever, none of the Type 1B examples reviewed in the In all likelihood, there were clerks working at the survey showed a slug with a number higher than 12. Worcester Post Office 24 hours a day to assist in the The EKU for the Type 1A device in Worcester is July moving of the mails. However, based on the results of 2, 1881. The EKU for the Type 1B device is January the Type 1 TOB survey, mail was not canceled around 3, 1882. It appears that when the Postmaster decided the clock. The earliest recorded time that mail was to order a new Wesson device, he did not spend the canceled was 5 AM. The latest cancel shows a time of extra money for a new set of single Day slugs (1 through 9 PM. No cancels are known with times between 10 31) but felt instead that he could use the Month slugs (1 PM and 4 AM If a 3-shift operation at the post office through 12) that he already had on hand for at least is considered, canceling activity can be broken down as part of each month. follows: The Details Of Surveying 8 AM to 4 PM 272 Examples (50.09%) Worcester Wesson TOB Cancels 4 PM to 12 AM 232 Examples (42.73%) 12 AM to 8 AM 39 Examples (7.18%) When compiling examples of Worcester Wesson TOB cancels for this survey, the authors included only those Multiple Killers Used In A Day cancels that could be documented by an image of the As would be expected, for the great majority of the cancel. We did not include written descriptions or hand- days for which have recorded use of the Wesson X- drawn sketches of some 15 entries from the literature. Type Killers, only one style of cancel is reported. That We felt it was imperative that our survey include only is, once the cork killer was inserted into the duplex holder verifiable examples. As of this writing, we record 543 and the date and time slugs set, the postal clerks used entries which are unique in terms of their dates, time of that arrangement for the day. However, in a small num- use, and description. ber of instances, either because the cork became unus- Using the EKU and LKU dates of the Type 1 devices able or the clerks just decided on a change, more than as reference, the survey covers 585 calendar days. one cork was used. Holidays such as the Fourth of July, Christmas and New One single killer used 317 Days (89.30%) Years Day are represented and cancels bearing July 4, 1882 and January 1, 1883, have been recorded. In fact, Two different killers used 36 Days (10.14%) we have documented the killers used on 355 days of Three different killers used 1 Day (0.28%) the possible 585 days over which the cancellations could Four different killers used 1 Day (0.28%) 26 Whole Number 241 The following examples illustrate the intri- cacies of use and re-use of killers. The sim- plest example is a killer described as a Nega- tive “13” In A Solid Circle (Figure 3) which saw fairly regular use from October 12, 1881 until November 15, 1881, after which it was retired. Our second example is the killer we describe as a Geometric–Grid With 3-Way Irregular Pattern (Figure 4). It was used from January 16, 1883 to January 19, 1883 but it was not the killer employed on Janu- ary 29, 1883, the last day of use for the Type 1 devices. The killer that was used on the final day of record was actually introduced Figure 2 Positive North-South Clasped Hand killer on February 22, 1882, almost a year earlier. The X-Type Killers It is described as 13 Bars From A Solid Circle, and it had a lifespan of 11 months. Data from our survey shows Collectors and postal historians have long known that that it was not uncommon to find killers that were em- in Worcester, both Type 1A and Type 1B devices were ployed over long periods of time which included ex- used with a wide variety of rough, rather crude, hand- tended periods of non-use. carved killers. The materials of choice for these killers were usually wood, rubber and cork, materials that could The main purpose of this article is to present a chrono- be carved easily and quickly by a postal clerk with a logical history of the Wesson TOB circular date stamp pen knife. One killer, though, because of its fine de- (CDS) and killer combinations used by the Worcester tails, may have been fabricated from metal, that being Post Office in the late 19th century. The large data- the Positive North-South Clasped Hand killer (Figure base of cancels was assembled, surveyed, described, 2). Other types of killers noted in the survey include and assigned a catalog number. The catalog number Geometric Designs, Roman Numerals, Arabic Numer- used for the chronologically earliest killer in our series als, Leaves and Letters. It is this diversity of the de- was 1010. The killers newly appearing thereafter were signs over their 19-month period of use that makes the assigned the numerals 1020, 1030 and so on. The last study of these killers attractive to postal historians. catalog number assigned was 1720, thus indicating that 72 unique killers have been identified. Gaps were left Prior to initiating this study, we assumed that most kill- in the catalog numbering system to accommodate killer ers were made from materials that would wear and types that are presently unknown. Information was degrade over a relatively short length of time, and there- gathered about the lifespan of each killer and its days fore, would not be re-used once they were taken out of of use. service. Now we know that this was not always the case. While many details have been discovered about the usage of the killers, there are still many days of use that for which we cannot account. The search continues. The issue of the chro- nology of killer use has occupied the authors for over a decade. While a large number of the ex- amples studied reside in the authors’ personal collections, many individu- als have assisted us in our research and we gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Gilbert Levere, Leigh Stein, Ronald Lawler and the late Bob Payne.

Figure 3 Negative “13” In A Solid Circle Spring 2010 27

killer longevity, the greatest number of days of use for a single killer type now stands at 25 days. The Data The remainder of this article will present a detailed summary of each of the 72 known Worcester Wesson killer types including its assigned Catalog Number, its Description, an Illustration, its EKU, its LKU and a complete listing of the Days and Times of Use. The data will be ar- Figure 4 Geometric - Grid With 3-Way Irregular Pattern ranged by Catalog Number and thus by the EKU of each killer type. The styles of the killers can be broken down into a small number of general categories. A broad distribu- The Request tion of the survey items is noted below. A detailed The authors have spent a number of years compiling description of each killer type will be provided later in this survey. However, as noted earlier, it is not com- the article. Please note that the convention used in plete. Several gaps in usage are apparent. In order to this survey is to count the number of “Inked” or “Posi- fill those gaps, we are requesting that any and all ex- tive” Bars when counting lines in a killer, especially amples of use of Worcester Wesson X-Type Killers barred circles. be reported to us. Please provide a good, clear, full- Arabic Numbers 25 Examples (4.60%) size photocopy or digital image (preferred) of each Roman Numerals 8 Examples (1.47%) new report. Our intention is to produce an annual up- Letters 48 Examples (8.84%) date of the Worcester Wesson data. Your help is greatly Barred Circles 207 Examples (38.13%) appreciated. Geometrics 197 Examples (36.28%) Please contact Bob Trachimowicz at Leafs 54 Examples (9.94%) [email protected] Positive N-S Clasped Hands 4 Examples (0.74%) The Individual Worcester What can we say about the rate at which new killers Wesson X-Type Killer Details were introduced into our series of 72 distinct designs The following set of illustrations provides details for during the 585 calendar days of the survey period ? It each of the known Worcester Wesson X-Type Kill- appeared that on average, a new killer made its ap- ers. They are listed in order by the author’s catalog pearance every 8th day. However, perhaps because numbering system, which was previously described. the survey only covered approximately 60% of the All known dates of use and times of use are indicated available dates, 16 of the unique designs seemed to in the table shown for each catalog number. have been used for a just a single day. While sampling problems also could have affected our estimation of 28 Whole Number 241

V orccstcr We son Catalog o 1010 cgatlvc " " In olid Circle Worces ter Wesson CataJog o 1020 J>os ithre Nortb-Soutb Sbaking Rands Unique Days Of Usc- (I l) Unique Days Of Usc- (4) I CATALOG No 1010 DATE AND TIME CATALOG No 1020 JULY 2 1881 - 3 PM- EKU FOR WORCESTER X-TYPE DATE AND TIME JULY 2 1881- 4 PM JULY51881 -8AM JULY 5 1881- 5 AM JULY61881 -8 AM JULY5 1881-6PM DECEMBER 4 1881 -6 PM JULY6 1881 -11 AM DECEMBER 30 1881 -4 PM JULY71881-6PM --- JULY 8 1881- 6 PM JULY 8 1881- 7 PM I JULY91881-10AM JULY 151881-2 PM JULY151881-6PM I JULY 16 1881 - 5 PM JULY 161881-SPM ! JULY 16 1881-7 PM l JULY 261881-SPM f--- l JULY 29 1881-3 PM I ...... ___ SEPTEMBER 14 1881 - 2 PM I

Worcester Wesson Catalog o 1040 Worcester Wesson Catalog No 1030 7 Positive Bars From Solid Circle 10 Posilive Bars From Solid Circle Unique Days Of Usc- ( 12) Unique Days Of Use- (I 0) Catalog No 1040 I Catalog No 1030 1 DATE AND TIME JULY 13 1881 - 6 PM DATE AND TIME OCTOBER 7 1881 - 3 PM JULY 9 1881 - 6 PM OCTOBER 8 1881-6 AM JULY 10 1881 - 6 PM OCTOBER 8 1881 - 10 AM JULY 111881 - 10AM OCTOBER 8 1881 - 6 PM JULY 11 1881-6 PM OCTOBER 10 1881 - 10 AM JULY 121881-9AM OCTOBER 11 1881 - 10 AM JULY 191881-8AM JANUARY 25 1882-3 PM JULY221881-2 PM JANUARY 26 1882- 11 AM JANUARY 191883-6 PM JANUARY 31 1882- 4 PM JANUARY 20 1883- 6 PM ~RUARY 7 1882- 11 AM JANUARY 22 1883 - 5 AM MARCH 141882-1 PM JANUARY 22 1883- 6 PM MARCH 16 1882- 3 PM JANUARY 24 1883- 5 AM MARCH 25 1882- 2 ~ Spring 2010 29

A

•vv •• n·oe~•~ r Wesson Catalog No 1050 1Ne9al·ive "3" In Solid Circle With Segmented Outer Ring

ique Days Of Use- (16)

wcn·coPs n~ r Wesson Catalog No 1070 With 8 Segments

Days OfUse- (13)

Worcester Wesson Catalog o 1080 Quute•·ed Cil·c1e With 3 Positive B:u-s Pe•· Qua.-ter

Unique Days Of Use- ( 1) 30 Whole Number 241

Worcester Wesson Cata.log No 1100 Negati ve "S" l n Solid Circle

Unique Days Of Use- (6)

Catalog No 1100 DATE AND TIME JULY 29 1881 - 2 PM AUGUST 6 1881 -6 PM AUGUST 8 1881 - 6 PM AUGUST 24 1881 -6 PM SEPTEMBER 17 1881-9 PM SEPTEMBER 19 1881 - 2 PM

Worcester Wesson Catalog No 1110 Negative 5-Point Star In Solid CiJ·clc

Unique Days OF Use - (9)

W01·ccste•· Wesson Catalog No 1120 4 Positive Bars From Solid Circle - 2 Outer Bars Split

Unique Days Of Use - (I)

Catalog No 1120 DATE AND TI ME AUGUST 12 1881-3 PM Spring 2010 31

lu'h··-A·•··- Wesson Catalog No 1 130 Of 6 Positive Bars By 4 Positive Bars

Worcester Wesson Catalog No I ISO Hemisphere C ut In 2 Pieces And 3 Pieces

Unique Days Of' Use - (2) 32 Whole Number 241

Wesson Catalog No 11 70 Cork Worcester Wesson Catalog No 1180 Remispheres Cut Jn 3 Pieces

Unique Days Of Use- ( I)

Catalog No 1180 DATE AND TIME

Worcester Wesson Catalog No 1200 Worcester Wesson Catalog No 1190 Diagonally Cut Center Squa•·e And Segmented Border Negative ''13" In Solid Circle Unique Days Of Use - (9) Unique Days Of Use - (9) Spring 2010 33

,.y,.,... ,,otP r Wesson Catalog No 1210 Wo•·cester Wesson Catalog No 1220 riangle With Segmented Cuff Of Short Bars Negative "H" In Solid Circle Unique Days Of Use- (10)

Catalog No 1220 DATE AND TIME OCTOBER 22 1881 - 1 PM OCTOBER 22 1881 -4 PM OCTOBER 221881-6 PM OCTOBER 23 1881 - 6 AM OCTOBER 27 1881-3 PM OCTOBER 28 1881 - 3 PM OCTOBER 281881 -6 PM OCTOBER 29 1881 -6 AM OCTOBER 30 1881 -6 PM OCTOBER 31 1881 - 3 PM NOVEMBER 1 1881 • 7 AM NOVEMBER 3 1881 - 8 AM NOVEMBER 31881-6 PM NOVEMBER 6 1881 -6 PM

rcestcr Wesson Catalog No 1230 Negative "IX" In Solid Circle

Unique Days OfUse- (7)

•·cester Wesson Catalog No 1240 ti ve "6" ln Solid Circle 34 Whole Number 241

Wesson Catalog No 1250 Negative " A" With Cuff Of Short Bars

Unique Days Of Use - (5)

Worcester Wesson Catalog No 1280 Crid Of Small Squares - 6 Bars By 6 Bars orcester Wesson Catalog No 1270 uartered Cork With 5 Bars Per Quarter Unique Days Of Use - (1)

nique Days Of Use -( I) Spring 2010 35

orcester Wesson Catalog No 1300 Worcester Wesson Catalog No 1290 10 Positive Bars From Solid Circle With Wide Equatorial Gutter Squared "5" Or "S" With Sid es Framed By 2 Bars

Unique Days Of Use- (6) Catalog No 1300 Catalog No 1290 DATE AND TIME DATE AND TIME DECEMBER 26 1881- 3 PM DECEMBER 18 1881-6 PM JANUARY 3 1882- 6 PM DECEMBER 19 1881 - 10 AM DECEMBER 19 1881 -3 PM DECEMBER 201881- 6 AM DECEMBER 21 1881 - 12 PM DECEMBER 231881 - 6 AM DECEMBER 23 1881 - 7 PM DECEMBER 24 1881 - 8 AM

Illustrative examples of X-killers. 36 Whole Number 241

Worcester Wesson Catalog No 1310 Worcester Wesson Catalog No 1320 Leaf- 5 Fronds Leaf- 4 Fronds Unique Days Of Use- ( 14) Unique Days Of Use- ( 17)

TO BE CONTINUED Spring 2010 37 Hampshire County West Virginia Post Offices

By Len McMaster Part 1 Thus I will attempt to identify the approximate loca- Introduction tion and dates of operation of the post offices estab- Several people have previously cataloged the Hamp- lished in Hampshire County, explaining, where possible, shire County West Virginia post offices, generally as the discrepancies or possible confusion that exists in part of a larger effort to list all the post offices of the other listings; recognizing that I too may create my West Virginia. Examples include Helbock’s United own errors no matter how cautious my attempt. 1 States Post Offices and Small’s The Post Offices Because of the length of the material, it is broken up 2 of West Virginia, 1792-1977 . Confusing this study into three parts. The first part will include an introduc- is that Hampshire County was initially split off from tion to the history of the county, describe the sources Virginia with the establishment of many early post of- of the data and the conventions used in the listings, and fices appearing in studies of Virginia post offices such conclude with the description of the Hampshire County as Abelson’s Virginia Postmasters and Post Offices, post offices from Augusta through Green Valley De- 3 1789-1832 and Hall’s Virginia Post Offices, 1798- pot. The second part will include the balance of the 4 1859 ; and that Hampshire County was itself eventu- Hampshire county post office descriptions, and the third ally split into all or parts of five West Virginia coun- part will include descriptions of the post offices in Min- ties, including its present day boundaries. Two other eral County today that were established in Hampshire lists warrant mentioning: Forte’s comprehensive list County before Mineral County was split off, and tables 5 of post offices on his postal history website and of all the post offices established in Hampshire County. Lisbeth’s study of Virginia Postal Markings Colo- nial -1865, which, while not comprehensive, has the General History advantage of including postal markings as well as early Hampshire County is the oldest county in West Vir- 6 postmasters . ginia, being created by the Virginia General Assembly on December 13, 1753 (effec- tive May 1, 1754) from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties (Virginia) with over twenty-six hundred square miles, including parts of present day Hardy, Morgan, Mineral and Grant counties. Since it was the western frontier of the Virginia Colony it became Virginia’s route to the upper Ohio River valley, an important gateway to the developing west. In 1762 Romney was in- corporated as the county seat and on April 1, 1796 the first post office in the county was established at Romney. Other early post offices included Springfield established in 1800, Map 1 1754 Map of Hampshire County with current county boundaries. Blommery established as Sherrard’s store in 1814, Ca- –––––––––––––––– pon Bridge established as Glencoe in 1826, Yellow Copyright 2010 by Len McMaster Spring in 1839 and Capon Springs in 1841. There were 38 Whole Number 241

other early post offices established, which have since most of the County then and now consists of rural been discontinued. In total over 80 post offices have farmland and numerous small communities widely been established in Hampshire County, several of them spread about the County. merely reflecting changes in the names of the com- Given this rather rugged topography, the development munities they served. of its roads and later the railroad, were important to Hardy County was created by the Virginia General transportation and the postal system in the County. By Assembly on December 10, 1785 from the southern 1786 a state road had been completed from Winches- part of Hampshire County and in December 1787 an ter, Virginia to Romney, but the building of the North- adjustment was made in the boundary between Hardy western Turnpike (U.S. Route 50) in the 1830s from and Hampshire. Since Hardy County was created prior Winchester to Parkersburg on the Ohio River in the to the establishment of the first post office in Hamp- western part of the state, was critical to further devel- shire County, there can be no confusion of post office opment. When completed, the turnpike crossed the names appearing in both counties. Morgan County was County from east to west through the communities of created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly in Capon Bridge, Loom, Hanging Rock, Pleasant Dale, March 1820 from parts of the northwest most corner Augusta, Frenchburg, Shanks, Romney, Vanderlip and of Hampshire County and Berkeley County. The only Moorefield Junction, each with their own post offices. post office established in what is now Morgan County In early to mid 19th century the Baltimore and Ohio prior to its creation was Berkeley Springs in 1802, but railroad was built across the northern part of the state this community was originally in Berkeley County such connecting Wheeling with Baltimore. In 1884 the South that there can be no confusion of post office names Branch Railroad was built connecting Romney with appearing in Morgan and Hampshire counties. Green Spring on the main B&O line, and in 1910 the On June 20, 1863 West Virginia was officially estab- line was extended along the South Branch River lished as a state. Then on February 1, 1866 Mineral through Moorefield (Hardy Co.) to Petersburg (Grant County was formed by an act of the General Assem- Co.), crossing the County from north to south through bly from the western part of the County with Hamp- the communities of Green Spring, Donaldson, shire County becoming its present size. (Shortly there- Wapocomo, Romney, Vanderlip, Pancake, and Sector after Grant County was formed from the western part (Glebe Station), each with their own post offices. In of Hardy County.) Different than Morgan and Hardy the eastern part of the state the Winchester and West- counties, however, there were numerous post offices ern Railroad, a shortline railroad, operated from Win- established in Hampshire County prior to 1866 that are in present day Mineral County. The topography of the County is a series of low mountains and rivers in the inter- vening valleys running from southwest to northeast. The major rivers, all part of the Potomac River watershed, include the South Branch (of the Potomac), Cacapon, Little Cacapon, and North rivers, with nu- merous other streams feeding them from the mountains. As an example a detailed description of the topography of Mill Creek Mountain in the western part of the County and Levels in the northeast part of the County can be found in Maxwell and Swisher’s 1897 history of the County7. There was some mining initially, e.g., Bloomery got its name from the iron fur- naces constructed as early as 1770, but Map 2 1896 Post route map of the state of Virginia and West Virginia, Postmaster General, Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3881p.ct000776 Spring 2010 39 chester, Virginia north to Maryland and south to West many post offices in present day Mineral County were Virginia. The company’s original line opened in 1917, established in Hampshire County before Mineral extending west from Winchester to Rock Enon Springs, County was formed. the location of a resort known for its mineral springs A comparison of numerous old maps on which previ- similar to Capon Springs. The line was later continued ous community names could be found in the same lo- through the communities of Shiloh, Capon Springs and cation as present day communities with different names Intermont West Virginia with post offices at Capon was the key to locating the old post offices in most Springs and Intermont. cases. When this approach failed, discussions with lo- Description of the Listings cal residents were invaluable in locating post offices based on postmaster names by knowing where these A brief history of each post office established in Hamp- families’ original farms were located. In a few cases shire County, including approximate location and name the physical location found in the Post Office Depart- changes, is provided in the following sections. A list of ment Records of Site Locations, 1837-1950 was also the post offices with dates of operation is provided at helpful. Information in these records included not only the end in Table 1 (those established within the cur- the post office’s proximity to nearby rivers, creeks, rent boundaries of Hampshire County) and Table 2 postal routes, railroad stations, and other post offices, (those established in Hampshire County, but located in but provided information on proposed names that were Mineral County today). rejected. For example, a 1882 letter concerning the Different than some studies, I started with the sec- application for re-establishing a post office at ondary listings of post offices in West Virginia by Small, Barrettsville, which had been discontinued for five Helbock, and others, to develop a list I could use for years, states “As there is now an office in W.Va. called collecting Hampshire County postal history, but quickly Basnettville [Marion County], the name Barrettsville discovered discrepancies in the listings that led me back will not answer. Please select a new name.” The form to the United States Post Office Department’s indicates “Junction” was the next choice, but this is “Records of Appointments of Postmaster” and other scratched out and “Augusta” added in its place8. The sources to resolve them. In 2000-2002 Alyce Evans Post Office Department (POD) forms used for locat- published a series of articles describing several West ing proposed and existing post offices, including Virginia counties in La Posta under the title of “West changes in location of existing post offices, will all be Virginia Research Papers”, but Hampshire County was referred to as POD “site location” forms. unfortunately not among them. While I have noted As has been noted by others it was not uncommon for 4 Hall’s work , I should also note that of the listings of these early, small post offices to change locations with post offices established in Hampshire County, I found the appointment of postmasters and I have found let- this to be the least reliable with dates often conflicting ters from new postmasters requesting such changes both with the other secondary sources and the Na- immediately upon their appointment. For example, it is tional Archive records. noted in Historic Hampshire that the Augusta post Even though I live in Hampshire County, I have not office moved from one side of the road to the other lived here long, and the biggest problem I experienced depending on the political party in power, during Demo- was in not being able to determine the location of the cratic years it was in the old George Riley store on post offices, i.e., determine what communities they south side of US Route 50 (at the intersection with served given the similarity in names and change in Ford Hill Road) and during Republican years in the community names over the years. Examples of the Berry and Rogers building on the north side of US problem include there being two communities, one Route 509. Thus the post office locations provided called Hanging Rock, which had a post office, and should be considered as pointing to the communities another called Hanging Rocks, which did not have a they served and not necessarily the precise location of post office; and the name New Creek being used by the building housing the post office. two separate communities during more than one pe- Typically the change in location was nearby as in the riod of their operations. As mentioned previously it was Augusta example, but occasionally the distance could also occasionally difficult to determine which post of- be a few miles, as in the case of the Frenchburg post fices were in present day Hampshire County since office (1857-60) “re-established … to Barrettsville” approximately two miles away as noted in the “Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-Sept. 30, 1971”. 40 Whole Number 241

The first Barrettsville entry in the same records also One interesting post office name change was Davy describes the post office as “late Frenchburg”10. The which was established in 1902 with Rada B. Davy post office at Barrettsville was later re-established as serving as the first postmaster; in 1911 the post office Augusta in 1882 (see discussion above concerning the name was changed to Rada with Rada Davy continu- application for re-establishing a post office at ing to serve as postmaster until replaced by a Maud Barrettsville); then in 1897 another post office was Davey in 1912. Why some proposed names were re- established at Shanks less than four miles away, both jected or the names of existing post offices changed of which are still operating today. When the periods of over the years may be at least partially explained by operation overlap, it’s easy to treat two or more post Order No. 114 of the Postmaster General, dated April offices in the same vicinity as separate, but the ques- 1894 which stated: tion becomes how to treat nearby post offices with To remove a cause of annoyance to the Depart- name changes and non-overlapping periods of opera- ment and injury to the Postal Service in the selection of names for newly established post offices, it is hereby ordered, that from this date only short names or names of one word will be accepted. There may be exceptions when the name selected is historical, or has become local by long usage, but the Department reserves the right in such cases to make the exception or not as it sees proper. Names of post offices will only be changed for reasons satisfactory to the Department. The prefix of “East,” “Old,” “New,” Map 3 Location of Shanks, Frenchburg and Augusta today “North,” “South,” or “West,” to the name of a post office is objectionable; as also is tion. While I do not claim to have been fully consistent the addition of “Burg,” “Center,” “City,” “Cor- throughout, in the case of Frenchburg, Barrettsville and ners,” “Creek,” “Cross Roads,” “Depot,” “Hill,” Augusta, I have treated them as the same community “Hotel,” “Hollow,” “Junction’ “Mill,” “Mound,” served because of the notations in the “Records” even “Peak,” “Plains,” “Point,” “Port,” “Prairie,” though there was a break in their periods of operation “Rock,” “River,” “Run,” “Ridge,” “Store,” and they exist as separate place names today. “Station,” “Springs,” “Town,” “Vale,” “Valley,” or Village,” and all other prefixes or additions, as In the description of post office locations, I have at- such prefixes or additions are liable to lead to tempted to show how the names of the post offices confusion and delay in transmission of the mails. serving essentially the same community changed over Delay may often be avoided by here submitting the years, but have kept the different post office names in order of preference several names as the one and their periods of use intact. If the name of a post first selected may be rejected by the Department. office serving the same community changed over its The name listed is based on US Post Office lifespan, the details are provided only under the name Department’s “Records of Appointments of Postmas- used today or the last post office name used. For each ter”10,11 spelling, but I have occasionally found a dif- entry, reference is made to the last post office name ferent spelling used in the postmark. Similarly, the dates used, e.g., “Frenchburg … See Augusta for more of operation are those listed in the “Records of Ap- detail.” The different names, including misspellings, pointments of Postmaster.” I will refer to cities, towns, which I have seen and believe refer to the same com- and other localities, whether incorporated or unincor- munity are also indicated, e.g., “Little Cape Capon porated, as communities without any distinction. In (Little Cape Capot, Little Cacapon).” While nearby cases where I am uncertain as to a name, spelling, roads and County Route numbers are identified in lo- location or other information provided that uncertainty cating a post office, it should be noted that the County will be discussed. Where the post office appears to is going through the process of renaming roads for have been named for the postmaster, I have listed the 911compatibility and may change. postmaster name. Spring 2010 41 Smith and Patera in their discussion of primary and sec- Individual Post Office Location ondary sources for U.S. postal history information12, point out that in the absence of other information, the and History of Name Changes earliest of postmaster appointment dates is generally Augusta (Frenchburg, Barrettsville) considered the establishment date of the post office, Augusta is located in central Hampshire County on and I have followed this guideline. The information prior the Northwestern Turnpike (U.S. Route 50) near the to 1832 is not as helpful as the information available intersection with Ford Hill Road (County Route 7) thereafter, e.g., in many cases the dates recorded are between Pleasant Dale and Frenchburg. According to the “date of first return” suggesting the post office was the appointment of postmaster records10 the post of- established within the preceding 12 months. Where I fice was originally established as Frenchburg May 2, found no better information than this, I have used only 1857 and discontinued March 10, 1860. The post of- the year to suggest this uncertainly. Interestingly Smith fice was re-established as Barrettsville May 15, 1866, and Patera do not mention the use of the site location with William Barret as the postmaster. It was discon- records8, but I found these records to contain helpful tinued from January 18, 1875 until re-established No- information on post office names and establishment vember 9, 1875, and discontinued again May 22, 1877. dates as well as the site location. A POD “site location” form dated February 25, 1882 In some cases a “discontinued” date is given a few associated with an application to re-establish a post days to weeks prior to an “effective” date and I will office at Barrettsville, states “as there is now an of- use the “effective” date if available. Occasionally the fice in W.Va. called Basnettville [Marion County], the discontinuance will be rescinded prior to the effective name Barrettsville will not answer. Please select a new date or the discontinuance lasts only a few months, and name.” The form indicates “Junction” was the next in such cases no discontinuance will be indicated. Some choice, but this is scratched out and “Augusta” added records indicate that service was suspended several in its place. The post office was thus re-established as years prior to the post office being discontinued; in such Augusta April 17, 1882, which continues to this day, cases both dates will be provided. zip code 26704. There are instances where the First and Second World Bache Wars clearly impacted the operation of these small post Bache was located in the central part of the County offices. In the case of Three Churches, for example, on North Texas Road (County Route 7/1) between the post office was discontinued during the Second World the intersections of Mack Road (County Route 7/5) War from April 30, 1941 to August 18, 1947. At some and Dunmore Ridge Road County Route 50/18) south post offices it appears other individuals served as act- of Augusta. The post office was established April 10, ing postmaster while the postmaster served in the mili- 1903 and discontinued September 15, 1913 with the tary, for example at Kirby the postmaster’s wife was mail routed to Hanging Rock. acting postmaster from January 1, 1944 to December Barne’s Mills (Barnes Mill, Belt) 31, 1946 when her husband returned; at Springfield Established September 30, 1879 and discontinued April another individual was acting postmaster from April 22, 30, 1911, this post office was re-established as Belt. 1944 to July 10, 1946 when the postmaster returned. See Belt for more detail. While most 19th century records give only one date for Barrettsville (Frenchburg, Augusta) postmaster appointments, later records provide several Established May 15, 1866 and discontinued May 22, dates to choose from. As an example of the entries, 1877, this post office was originally known as one Augusta postmaster was “nominated”September Frenchburg and later became Augusta. See Augusta 27, 1945, “confirmed” October 9, 1945, “President ap- for more detail. pointment” October 10, 1945, “commission signed and Belt (Barne’s Mills) mailed” October 10, 1945, and “assumed charge” Janu- Belt was located in central Hampshire County on Little ary 1, 1946. The question is what date to use. In com- Cacapon North Road (County Route 50/9) near where paring previously compiled lists, the “appointment date” it crosses the Little Cacapon River north of listed is the “confirmed” date and to be consistent with Frenchburg. The post office was originally established those tabulations, I will use this date for post office es- as Barne’s Mills September 30, 1879 with Isaac Barnes tablishment if it exists. Dates that are bolded suggest serving as the first postmaster, and was discontinued a change in the year previous reported by Helbock and/ or Small. 42 Whole Number 241

April 30, 1911 with the mail routed to Romney. November 24, 1928 the post office was re-established as Belt with Coleman Belt serving as the postmaster, and was discontin- ued August 15, 1934 with the mail routed to Higginsville. Although cur- rent maps show Barnes Mill at this location, the community of Belt is shown on a 1933 map at the same location13.

Bloomery (Sherrard’s Store) Bloomery, reflecting the local iron Figure 2 Capon Bridge postmark circa 1865 smelting work, is located in the northeast corner of the County on the Bloomery Pike Capon Bridge (Cacapon Bridge, Glencoe) (State Route 127) near the border with Virginia. Capon Bridge is located in eastern Hampshire County Bloomery was settled in 1737 and the first post office, on the Northwestern Turnpike (U.S. Route 50), west known as Sherrard’s Store, was established on De- of Winchester, Virginia. The records suggest the post cember 28, 1814. On May 13, 1852 the post office office was originally established as Glencoe March name was changed to Bloomery, which continues to 23, 1826 and continued operation until the name was this day, zip code 26817. changed to Capon Bridge July 13, 1841. For example, Cacapehon (Neals Run) Maud Pugh in her book Capon Valley, Its Pioneers Established May 8, 1901, the name was changed to and their Descendants 1698-1940 notes that Jesse Neals Run on April 15, 1925. See Neals Run for more Pugh, the first Glencoe postmaster, “lived south of detail. Capon Bridge” and that William Odell, the third Glencoe postmaster, “lived at Capon Bridge”14; and Cacaponville (Okonoko) both an 186315 and 186516 map of the County continue Established March 18, 1843, the name was changed to show Glencoe, but not Capon Bridge, in the general to Okonoko on June 6, 1853. See Okonoko for more area. The town of Capon Bridge was incorporated in detail. 1902 and the Capon Bridge post office continues as a working post office today, zip code 26711. Capon Springs (Frye’s Spring, Watson) Capon Springs is located in the southeast corner of the County on Capon Springs Road (County Route 16). Originally know as Frye’s Springs for Henry Frye who is credited with discovering the springs that appeared to have medicinal qualities around 1765. In October 1787 the General Assembly of the State of Virginia established the town of Watson, named for Joseph Watson who had been the spring’s most recent owner. The Capon Springs post office was established June 18, 1841, but both an 186315 and 186516 map of the County con- Figure 1 Former Capon Bridge general store and post office from 1913 to 1967 (courtesy of David McMaster) Spring 2010 43 tinue to show the town as Watson. Capon Springs is still a working post office today, zip code 26823. Cold Stream (Cold Stream Mills) Cold Stream was located in east- ern Hampshire County on Spring- field Grade Road (County Route 15) between Slanesville and Capon Bridge. The post office was origi- nally called Cold Stream Mills, es- tablished December 27, 1813 and discontinued from June 1819 until September 24, 1827 when it was re- established as the Cold Stream post office. The Cold Stream post office was discontinued for a short period from June 17 to December 4, 1856, and discontinued for good Decem- Figure 3 Delray post office today (courtesy of David McMaster) ber 27, 1968 with the mail routed to Capon Bridge. Established August 20, 1902, the name was changed to Rada on January 24, 1911. See Rada for more de- Cold Stream Mills (Cold Stream) tail. Established December 27, 1813 and discontinued in June 1819, this post office was re-established as Cold Delray (Smith’s Gap) Stream. See Cold Stream for more detail. Delray is located in the south-central part of the County in the North River Valley on Delray Road (State Route Concord 29S) between Sedan and Rio. The post office was Concord was located in the southeast part of the originally established as Smith’s Gap February 17, County along Elridge Road (County Route 23/2) north- 1848. A POD “relocation” form dated December 15, east of Yellow Spring and southwest of Lehew. The 1885 suggests the continuation of the use of the name post office was established March 8, 1876 and discon- Smith’s Gap as well as changes to “Grover” or “Vilas,” tinued March 15, 1933 with the mail routed to Lehew. which were all rejected, and on May 13, 1886 the name Creekvale (Creek Vale) was changed to Delray. The post office was discon- Creekvale was located in the north-central part of the tinued December 8, 1897 with the mail forwarded to County along the Little Cacapon River southeast of Sedan, then re-established May 8, 1901. It was dis- Levels on Little Cacapon-Levels Road (County Route continued again May 31, 1913 with the mail forwarded 3/3) south of the intersection with Edward Kidwell to Sedan. The post office was re-established January Road (County Route 2/2). Originally proposed as 18, 1917 and is still a working post office today, zip “Creek Vale” on a POD “site location” form the post code 26714. office was established as Creekvale October 23, 1917 Dillon’s Run (Luptons Mill, Dillons Run) and was discontinued June 30, 1936 with the mail routed Dillons Run was located in eastern Hampshire County to Slanesville. near the intersection of Dillon’s Run Road (County Critton Route 50/25) and Haines Road (County Route 50/37) Critton was located in the northeast part of the County along Dillons Run stream from which it takes its name. along Critton Run on Critton Owl Hollow Road (County Originally known as Luptons Mill, the Dillons Run post Route 29/1) southwest of the intersection with State office was established July 13, 1830 and discontinued Route 29. The post office was established May 22, December 31, 1938 with the mail routed to Capon 1907 and discontinued May 31, 1908 with the mail routed Bridge. to Paw Paw, Morgan County. Donaldson (Green Spring Valley) Davy (Rada) Donaldson was located in the northwest corner of the County on Springfield - Green Spring Road (County Route 1) near the intersection with Donaldson School 44 Whole Number 241

Road (County Route 1/3) between Green Spring and posed postmaster, Granville Park, notes that “the name Springfield. The post office was established June 15, Fordhill has become local by usage to this point but 1877 with Kate Donaldson serving as the first post- should it be rejected the name “Park is respectfully master, and was discontinued March 26, 1883 with submitted. Fordhill much preferred”8. The post office the mail routed to Springfield. was established as Fordhill April 2, 1903 and discon- tinued September 30, 1920 with the mail routed to Dunn’s Store Augusta. Dunn’s Store is not listed by Helbock1 or Small2, but is listed by both Axelson3 and Hall4. Axelson notes that Forks of Capon (Forks of Cacapon) the first postmaster was Thomas Dunn, Jr., and a search of the 1820 Hamp- shire County, Virginia cen- sus found a Thomas Dunn, Sr. listed as a head of household with two addi- tional males and the 1830 census lists a Thomas Dunn, Jr. as a head of household17. The Post- master Appointment Records lists the appoint- ment of Thomas Dunn, Jr. on May 18, 1820 and the post office is listed in the 1822 Post Office Depart- ment List of Post Offices Figure 4 Frenchburg manuscript postmark circa 1858 (courtesy of Wayne Farley) in the United States, lo- cated a distance of 100 miles west of Washington, DC Forks of Cacapon, named for its location at the and 178 miles northwest of Richmond. I have been confluence of the North River and Cacapon River, was unable to locate this post office more precisely, but it located in the northern part of the County near the appears to have been in the eastern part of Hamp- intersection of State Route 29 and Owl Hollow Road shire County by comparison with the distances listed (County Route 45/7). The post office was established to other Hampshire County post offices, e.g., in the December 6, 1869 and discontinued May 31, 1908 with 1831 List of Post Offices Dillon’s Run is listed a dis- the mail routed to Paw Paw, Morgan County. tance of 100 miles west of Washington, DC and 179 Forks of Potomac (South Branch Depot, South miles northwest of Richmond. The post office appears Branch) to have been established on May 18, 1820 and discon- Established July 11, 1851, the name was changed to tinued in 1821. South Branch Depot December 20, 1865, and later to Extract South Branch. See South Branch for more detail. Extract was located in southwestern Hampshire Frenchburg (Barrettsville, Augusta) County on the east side of the South Branch River on Established May 2, 1857 and discontinued March 10, South Branch River Road (County Route 8), between 1860, this post office was re-established as Barrettsville Romney and Glebe. The post office was established and later became Augusta. See Augusta for more de- November 2, 1900 and discontinued July 31, 1906 with tail. the mail routed to Glebe. Glebe Fordhill (Ford Hill) Glebe is located southwest of Romney on the east side Ford Hill was located in south-central Hampshire of the South Branch River on South Branch River County along Tear Coat Creek on Ford Hill Road Road (County Route 8), southeast of Sector, which (County Route 7) near the intersection with Mack Road lay on the west side of the South Branch River and (County Route 7/5) south of Augusta. A POD “site location” form dated March 16, 1902 filed by the pro- Spring 2010 45

Green Spring (Green Spring De- pot, Green Spring Run) Green Spring is located in the north- west corner of the County on Springfield - Green Spring Road (State Route 1) near the confluence of the North and South Branches of the Potomac River north of Springfield. The post of- fice was originally established as Green Spring Depot February 17, 1843. On June 6, 1849 the name was changed to Green Spring Run. Then on December 6, 1880 the name was changed again to Green Figure 5 Green Spring Run postmark circa 1865 Spring, which is still a working post was at one time connected to Glebe by a bridge across office today, zip code 26722. the River. Sector was also known as Glebe Station Green Spring Run (Green Spring Depot, Green because it served Glebe. The 1922 USGS Moorefield Spring) Quadrangle map shows “Glebe PO” approximately 2 Established June 6, 1849, this post office was origi- miles southeast of “Glebe Sta. / Sector PO.” The Glebe nally known as Green Spring Depot. The name was post office was established August 31, 1881 and dis- changed to Green Spring on December 6, 1880. See continued December 31, 1936. with the mail routed to Green Spring for more detail. Moorefield. Green Valley Depot (Green Spring Run, Green Glencoe (Glenco, Capon Bridge) Spring) Established March 23, 1826, the name was changed Established February 17, 1843, the name was changed to Capon Bridge on July 13, 1841. See Capon Bridge to Green Spring Run on June 6, 1849 and later to Green for more detail. Spring. See Green Spring for more detail. Gloydsborough (Gloydsboro) Gloydsborough is not listed by Small2, and although it was supposed to have existed from 1814 to 1821, I References found no reference to it in the 1817, 1819, or 1822 1. Helbock, Richard W., 2004, United States Post Offices, Lists of Post Offices in the Unites States. However, it Volume VI – The Mid-Atlantic, La Posta Publications 1 3 4 is listed by Helbock , Axelson and Hall ; and I found 2. Small, Richard E., 1998. The Post Offices of West Vir- the appointment of James Gloyd as the postmaster in ginia, 1792-1977 the Record of Appointment of Postmasters, Oct. 1789- 10 3. Axelson, Edith F., 1991, Virginia Postmasters and Post 1832 . I also found a James Gloyd listed as living in Offices, 1789-1832, pp. 85-88, Iberian Publishing Com- 17 Hampshire County in the 1810 census . So while the pany, Athens, Ga. records seem to confirm its existence, established 4. Hall, Virginius Cornick, Jr., 1973, Virginia Post Offices, March 14, 1814 and discontinued 1821, I have found 1798-1859, The Virginia Magazine of History and Bi- no information on its location. ography, January, Vol.81, No.1, pp. 49-97 Good 5. Forte, Jim, Postal History website, http:// Good was located in the northeast corner of the County www.postalhistory.com/ on the Bloomery Pike (State Route 127) at I.L. Pugh 6. Lisbeth, Robert L. Virginia Postal Markings and Post- Road (County Route 6/2) east of Bloomery and just master Colonial – 1865, Virginia Postal History Society, south of the Virginia border. A POD “site location” published from November, 1984 - August, 1992 in the form dated March 6, 1908 suggests the proposed post Society’s journal Way Markings 8 office name was “Laurel Hill”, which was rejected . 7. Maxwell, Hu and H.L. Swisher, 1897. History of Hamp- The post office was established as Good April 20, 1908 shire County, West Virginia, A. Brown Boughner, and discontinued November 4, 1936 with the mail routed Morgantown to Bloomery. 46 Whole Number 241

Figure 6 1843 Green Valley Depot fancy blue postmark with postmaster’s free frank (courtesy of Wayne Farley)

8. National Archives Microfilm Publication M1126, Post 10. National Archives Microfilm Publication M841, Record Office Department Records of Site Locations, 1837- of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-Sept. 30, 1971 1950 11. National Archives Microfilm Publication M1131, 9. Brannon, Selden W., ed., Historic Hampshire, McClain Record of Appointment of Postmasters, Oct. 1789-1832 Printing Co., Parsons, WV, 1976

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The price for these and other La Posta E-books is just $17.50 each, postpaid world wide. To order, send your check to La Posta Publications, 33470 Chinook Plaza, Suite #216, Scappoose, OR 97056, or order on-line at http://www.la-posta.com/images/ebooks.htm where you can pay by credit card through Pay Pal. Spring 2010 47 Philadelphia Rail Markings II - Trains by Tom Clarke Philadelphia’s Railroads From the Philadelphia & Reading’s begin- ning as a suburban commuter line to Germantown and Norristown PA in 1832, it expanded into the initial nucleus of America’s industrial might via hard anthra- cite coal. The Philadelphia & Reading will haul unimaginable numbers of tons of coal to Philadelphia’s markets and port. It flowed down in substantial rail cars across eastern Pennsylvania to the waiting factories and Figure 13 The Camden & Amboy’s first steam engine, the John Bull, Delaware River wharves at Philadelphia. which worked the rails for roughly 30 years after its 1833 Pennsylvania coal fired local and distant inauguration. Here members of the Camden & Amboy Railroad factories and by the 1850’s will become the Historical Group spruce up a working model; the original is in the key ingredient in making carbon steel, an Smithsonian. up and coming material whose future uses When Matthias Baldwin, jeweler and silversmith, re- could not be dreamed of by mid-century Americans. ceived an order from the newly formed Philadelphia, The second half of Philadelphia’s (and New York Germantown, and Norristown Railway for a full size City’s) railway fame began running between Camden locomotive to run on a short line to the northwestern and Amboy NJ in 1833. Wooden cross ties and cattle suburbs of the city, Philadelphia’s railroad dynasties catchers were the immediate innovations of the C & began. The Baldwin Locomotive Works quickly gained A’s creator, John Stevens. Because its railroad termi- world-renown as a Philadelphia icon. nals nudged the outskirts of the growing metropolises Soon, BLW’s first large scale customer moved in next of Philadelphia and New York City, together, their eco- door, the newly formed nomic energies, as joined Philadelphia & Reading by the iron horse, will Rail Road, located just push the United States north of the old Philadel- toward becoming a world phia city boundary, at industrial power. Broad (14th Street) and People Spring Garden Street, in the township of Spring Carriers, Too Garden. A generation be- Whereas in other regions fore, this area was farm of the country railroads and garden lands for the began as people movers, city dwellers a mile or two in Philadelphia this at first distant, a welcome respite Figure 14 Train use can be trolley use writ larger. Just as was more of a lucrative from the hustle and bustle there were trolley turn-of-the-20th century excursions to sideline. But passenger of Philadelphia’s crushing nearby fun events, train excursion packages (as they still travel will take root too. 80,000 people. Quickly, it do, to Atlantic City gambling, for instance) took Certainly, wherever rail- became a beehive of individuals and groups further. Here is a German roads hauled people, the early-day heavy industry. Reformed church? group return ticket from the 1876 new concept quickly Centennial Festivities in Fairmount Park back to caught on. For a genera- Mahanoy City via Reading and Port Clinton, about 110 tion, “to take the cars” miles — several hours to compose a letter maybe.

© copyright reserved 2010 by Tom Clarke 48 Whole Number 241

Figure 15 This classic Passenger Train marking was stamped by a Philadelphia & Reading (‘P&RRRCo’) agent as an official train business frank, to Ashland PA, 112 miles northwest. It was possibly addressed during the 1860’s-70’s at the Reading’s Broad & 20th St. Terminal in town, or at a agent’s desk on the rails. Ex Gibson, 1958-$46, $342 today. Mr. Gibson overpaid.

meant to travel (relatively) rapidly, and its mention in- sible. Soon they would become standard fare for a spired admiration and awe for many years. broad slice of American families throughout the Dela- ware Valley, not only the business elite and well off. People’s imaginations were stirred. They could visit or complete business deals in person, or both. They Still, until the ‘teens and 1920s, America was severely could carry, in person, or ship quickly, parcels from divided on economic lines. There were the poorly paid here to there across otherwise unnatural roadways that workers and there were those who paid them. Up- were much more direct than the original Indian trail ward mobility was largely unknown. For the masses, routes that stage lines plod. For efficiency, rail lines especially of the many European immigrants, their first were carved mostly ‘as the crow flies’. Bulk goods train ride from Ellis Island to the crush of row-homes and dozens of persons, formerly the work of horse in the cramped and seedier neighborhoods of Phila- wagon haulers and bumpy stage lines, now quickly, easily, and for the most part comfort- ably, road from point A to point B. The sights: previously, they could only be looked upon as grand places in printed geographies and in recently-in- troduced, extremely popular, weekly magazines whose laboriously crafted engravings of people, places and events, though crude works of the engraver’s art, whet prospective passengers’ ap- Figure 16 Philadelphia & Norfolk VA was a very popular RR for seaside petites to see for themselves these vacationers, given the number of markings seen. Here, a CA collector marvels. sent a penny postal in 1940 requesting an example, but the apologetic RPO agent was ashamed of the PHILA & NORF. dial. He offers a better Who Rode? one next time from a different train. Hats off RPO agent J. Shannon of Delmar DE. (448j) Before the 1860’s Civil War, the car- riage of goods (including mail) between towns was delphia might be their only trip, unless they could even- whisked along at 30 miles per hour. Travel was ini- tually save a little discretionary income late in life to tially for citizens of leisure and important men of af- splurge. fairs and their families. Following the Civil War, the infant vacation industry began. With distance as an Those regularly riding the rails were of the upper fourth obstacle falling away, 1870’s and 1880’s Philadelphia’s of society, though there were Second Class cars for and the surrounding region’s holiday makers were beck- the day’s meager middle class of skilled workers, store oned, at 40 to 50 miles per hour to stay at New Jersey keeps, and educated professional men and women. shore point boarding houses and hotels, and ditto, the First Class travelers were generally ‘blue bloods’ from Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia seaside towns. Gen- eral travel and family outings were fast becoming fea- Spring 2010 49 families both nouveau riche and those of inherited Catalog, for instance, “1851-1861” indicates a mark- wealth. All this prior to cars and airplanes of World ing that is known bearing stamps of the three series War I times. years 1851, 57 and 1861. It’s #65 stamp may have These were the mailers who rode the trains who licked been canceled in 1866, in fact, so history is the worse the envelopes that caught the markings of the railway for it. agents on board. Only in the aftermath of World II would Robson Lowe and others were at that time attempted the mass of citizens be set free by a booming, well pay- to delve deeper into the subject, and they developed ing economy, these formerly lower class factory work- and named this view of postal life ‘postal history’. Soon, ers of the new emerging, democratic American soci- publications like the American Stampless Cover Cata- ety. In the 1950s and ‘60s we will have become as log, also determined to quote the actual year ranges middle class as America would ever be. It’s the America for markings though at times, due to scarcity of mate- TV’s Father Knows Best, Molly Goldberg, and even rial, they had to fall back on the imprecise method of Amos n Andy were attempting to portray. Unfortu- indicating the stamp series. nately for collectors, most RPO activity had already gone the way of buggy whips. Broadly bracketed date ranges are at best misleading, and are virtually useless as historical information. RPO Markings and Dates During the past twenty-five years many collectors, dealers and publications have begun to lend attention The Mobile Post Office Society’s catalogs follow a to the earliest and latest dates of a marking’s usage strictly alphabetic arrangement by inscription name. just as they have the earliest recorded usage of post- How else to handle a nationwide catalog, but this loses age stamps themselves. the sense of historic growth and modification through rail line succession and intertwining relationships. Own- The Catalog ership came and went and combined with others (ei- ther ethically or unscrupulously). A ‘table of contents’ The Philadelphia’s RPO markings field is broad. The is necessary to comprehend and make sense of the pro- largest lines have an over-abundance of types and gression of individual RPO markings. For the Philadel- varieties, whereas small lines may have only used a phia series, RPO markings are listed by rail line names, single type. In both cases, examples are not common then chronologically by marking (in most cases). —not necessarily rare, just overlooked or under-ap- preciated. As a result, lack of material prevents a bet- The frustration with MPOS publications and other early ter view of years of use. Common types may still have compilations is the 1940s-70s practice of dating cancel a single year as evidence of its use. Rare types may by the stamp’s issue date and not the true years of use. have several years recorded by virtue of the fact that For collectors in the early 1950s, stamps were the uni- they are rare, appreciated, and have been held onto. versal collector orientation. In the Transit Marking

Figure 17 Mr. A. Foster was the purchasing agent of the Philadelphia & Reading RR in 1894, and had this sent to him over night (N.Y.& WASH.R.P.O. / NIGHT) from George W. Bush & Sons (!), possibly well-to-do businessmen of Wilmington. Note that Mr. Foster was to be found at the “Reading Terminal”, just recently opened. The earliest back stamp was placed at 5:30 AM and a second at 8 AM, just in time to read mail with coffee. (435ff) 50 Whole Number 241

Figure 18 The Philadelphia and Columbia carried mail to the state capital at Harrisburg. This ms P & C RR / Feb 16th , to a House of Representatives member named HM North, is not listed in Towle, but is similar to another pencil ms: Phil + Col RR / date, given as 1852. A former owner/dealer years ago noted it as ‘very scarce’, but it failed to make the MPOS catalog. (455a*)

Year slots that remain blank need to be filled and may For Philadelphia’s rail road markings, please eMail ‘se- be proof of how scattered RPO cover still are in the ries replacement’ dates (giving where possible, the full collector fraternity. Many are simply unrecognized as day-month-year) to [email protected] . useful covers. This is a “dial list” and makes no provision for the killer Its organization is a reasonable chronology insofar as varieties that accompany. Since most illustrations ac- minimal evidence allows. Intelligent guesstimates cumulated from tracings by many hands, they are sub- abound. Most date entries are far from precise. Such ject to unintended error. a list can give a track to run on for prospective spe- Permissions to use illustrations and data have been cialists who have a hankering to get their toes wet. gratefully received from the MPOS and /or Bob Stets Single year dates probably refer to the old stamp se- and others over the years, without which there could ries, but might refer to a cover where the exact date have been no useful illustrated Philadelphia ‘rail line’ only can be revealed as the year. Again, either case markings catalog. Illustration numbers were arbitrarily does not imply rarity, merely lack of information and assigned once the basic rail line arrangement was made. sufficient examples to consider. The parenthetical MPOS codes (x-x-x) are from pub- Collectors are urged to compare their holdings and lications dated 1986 or before. report specific dates of use from letter contents, dock- As with MPOS catalogs, a parenthetical value scale eting comments, and from early year dated cancels. 1-10, abundant to possibly unique, is included. It was developed a generation ago and, as with any field of

Figure 19 A nice PHILA & POTTSVILLE / R.R. hand stamp of Feb 18, 1853, headed for New York City. The reverse calls it ‘rare’, and adds ‘P 8 D / 7/9/1937’. If that’s ‘paid 8 dollars in 1937’, it equates to $119.95 today. The list does give it a ‘6’ rarity. (467c) Spring 2010 51 collecting, may not be fully accurate today. In the na- phia RPO top / bottom inscription, and varieties, each ture of such things, each estimate may be the opinion indexed to their appropriate catalog number, MPOS of a single individual or the reasoned view of an expe- cancel code, and rarity factor. It’s the whole catalog rienced panel. In the meantime, new finds increase section by friendly a-b-c. their numbers simply as wider knowledge and appre- ciation of them spreads, which may make some of References these scarcity determinations moot. Camden & Amboy RR A List of Philadelphia Railroad http://jcrhs.org/camden&amboy.html Markings Clarke, Tom, A Catalog of Philadelphia Postmarks, 18th Century to the Present, 3 Vols., Davie FL, 1989-91. The list that follows is an ongoing revision of the Rail- Kay, John, Directory of Railway Post Offices 1864 to road section of A Catalog of Philadelphia Post- 1977; MPOS, 1985. marks. It will improve as corrections are offered and new data (and accompanying scanned eMail attach- Kay, John and Stets, Robert, Illustrated Catalog of Phila- delphia Railroad and Maritime Markings, 1792- ments) is submitted. 1882. SEPAD, 1984. There are several useful preparatory charts that will MPOS - http://www.eskimo.com/~rkunz/mposhome.html orient the reader to the lengthy listing. The railroad history - “Philadelphia’s Twenty-Six Railway Mail Lines” is a table of contents that shows the groups of rail lines http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/education/ and their subsidiary lines, plus the independent lines historytimeline5.shtml that carried mail to and from Philadelphia, and it cross- Towle, Charles, United States Route and Station Agent references the catalog number under which the can- Postmarks. MPOS, 1986. cels can be found. Towle, Charles and Meyer, Henry, United States Transit Marking Catalog. MPOS, Vols I-IV., 1995 (Revised in A “Philadelphia-related RPO Index by Railroad Name” 2002,4,6) and “Philadelphia-related RPO Index by Terminus Name” concordance highlights the named railways (N.B. The cancel shown in figure 12 of “Philadelphia found on postmark dials and permits a quick way to Rail Markings Part I-Trolleys”, in the last La Posta, cut through the baffling clutter of rail names, control- was noted as the earliest known experimental H & P ling rail line names, terminus town names, etc. in the trolley cover known, August 30, 1895. At the time it catalog portion. The fun has been to make something was, but then in late December 2009, an exhibit grade so confusing, logical and easy to access. trolley cover with letter, dated August 14, 1895, sold There was another index that runs 336 lines long, which, on eBay for $240. Great material is just around the a merciful heaven has determined, will not appear here corner.) for lack of space. It lists alphabetically every Philadel-

Figure 20 A double letter written back home to both grandfather and sister in West River MD, in 1849. it was sent, no doubt for speed (railroads=’straight as an arrow’), via the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Baltimore rail line, popularly called the ‘PHILAD’A RAIL RD’. She hopes that the child named Cinderella (!) is improving and is a good girl. (470o) 52 Whole Number 241

Philadelphia's Twenty-Six Railway Mail Lines Parent Rail Line Parent Rail Line Subsidiary Lines Subsidiary Lines 'Independent' Lines 'Independent' Lines A. 410 Allentown & Philadelphia 444 Philadelphia & Crisfield MD B. Belvidere [NJ]/ East Stroudsburg & Philadelphia 445 Philadelphia & Delmar DE 411 Belvidere & Philadelphia 446 Philadelphia & Dover 412 East Stroudsburg & Philadelphia 447 Philadelphia & Cape Charles C. Bethlehem & Philadelphia 448 Philadelphia & Norfolk 413 North Pennsylvania RR Q . Philadelphia & Cape May I Millville 414 Bethlehem & Philadelphia 449 Philadelphia & Cape May D. 415 Binghamton NY & Philadelphia 450 Philadelphia & Millville E. Bound Brook I West Trenton & Philadelphia R. Philadelphia ... Cedar Brook, Atlantic City, Cape May (see also Philadelphia & Atlantic City) 416 Bound Brook & Philadelphia 451 Philadelphia, Cedar Brook [NJ] & Atlantic City (NJ) 417 West Trenton & Philadelphia 452 Philadelphia & Ocean City F. 419 Centennial 453 Philadelphia & Winslow Junction G. Hightstown I Tuckerton & Philadelphia 454 Philadelphia & Cape May 420 Hightstown & Philadelphia (via Camden) s. [New York], Philadelphia, (Harrisburg) & Pittsburgh 421 Point Pleasant & Philadelphia 455 Philadelphia & Columbia 422 Toms River & Philadelphia 456 Philadelphia & Pittsburgh 423 Tuckerton & Philadelphia 457 Pennsylvania Central RR H. 424 New Hope & Philadelphia 458 Philadelphia & Altoona I. 425 Newtown & Philadelphia 459 New York & Pittsburgh J. New York, Philadelphia & Baltimore, & Washington T. Philadelphia & Harrisburg I Paoli 426 New York, Baltimore & Washington 460 Philadelphia & Harrisburg 427 Philadelphia, Upland & Baltimore 461 Philadelphia & Paoli 428 Philadelphia, Aiken & Baltimore U. Philadelphia & [West Chester]/ Port Deposit MD K. New York, South Amboy & Philadelphia 462 Philadelphia & Baltimore Central RR 430 New York & Philadelphia 463 Philadelphia & West Chester 431 South Amboy & Philadelphia 464 Philadelphia & Port Deposit 432 New York, South Amboy & Philadelphia 465 Philadelphia & Perryville 433 New York, Jamesburg [NJ] & Philadelphia 466 Philadelphia & West Chester 434 New York, Trenton & Philadelphia v. 467 Philadelphia & [Reading] Pottsville L. New York & "Washington RR" w. 468 Philadelphia & Salem [NJ] 435 New York & Washington X. 469 Philadelphia & Wildwood M. 436 New York, Whitings [NJ] & Philadelphia Y. 470 Phila, Wilmington & "Baltimore RR" N. Philadelphia & Atlantic City z. Williamsport I Shamokin & Philadelphia 437 Company A 471 Williamsport & Philadelphia 438 Company B 472 Shamokin & Philadelphia 439 Company C AA. Terminal and Transfer Offices 0. Philadelphia & Bridgeton I Port Norris 480 Broad Street Terminal RPO Clerk 440 [Philadelphia - Bridgeton] 481 Pennsylvania Station Local Agent, etc 441 Philadelphia & Port Norris 482 Market Street Wharf 442 Philadelphia & Bridgeton 483 Reading Terminal (Market) PO Clerk P. Philadelphia & Cape Charles DE I Norfolk VA 484 Cuneo Press 443 Philadelphia & Wyoming DE Spring 2010 53 Philadelphia-related RPO Index by Railroad Name As mentioned, there are 26 rail lines considered for Philadelphia, made up of a variety of named railroads, depending on railroad consolidations, buyouts, and name changes over the years. The following index uses an arbitrary catalog numbering system in the 400’s. The 26 lines are listed alphabetically but here the individual, popular railroad names within those rail lines are listed. To arrive at the catalog numbering, all named lines were broken into rail line groups, separately numbered (usually alphabetically), then rearranges for this list. Some differently named railroads might have run on the same set of tracks, but then expanded or contracted, and in doing so gained a new terminus, and thus a new name (and hand cancel). Entries may have carried the same passengers to and from the same places, but under different rail names, depending upon recent change of ownership, etc. 410 Allentown & Ph 458 Ph & Altoona,Pa 469 Ph & Wildwood NJ 470 Baltimore RR 437 Ph & Atlantic City, NJ, I 470 Ph & Wilmington De 411 Belvidere NJ & Ph 438 Ph & Atlantic City, NJ, II 453 Ph & Winslow Jct NJ 414 Bethlehem & Ph 439 Ph & Atlantic City, NJ, III 443 Ph & Wyoming 415 Binghampton NY & Ph 462 Ph & Balt Centl 428 Ph, Aiken & Balt 416 Bound Brook NJ & Ph 442 Ph & Bridgeton NJ 451 Ph, Cedar Brook & Atl City 418 Buffalo, NY & Ph 454 Ph & C May NJ (via C Brk) 427 Ph, Upland & Balt 430 Camden & Amboy” 447 Ph & Cape Charles Va 470 Phila & Baltimore RR” 419 Centennial RPO 449 Ph & Cape May NJ 430 Phila & New York RR” 412 East Stroudsburg & Ph 455 Ph & Columbia 430 Philada Railroad” (also PW&B) 420 Hightstown & Ph (via Cam) 444 Ph & Crisfield Md 470 Philada RR” (also NY & Ph) 424 New Hope & Ph 445 Ph & Delmar De 421 Point Pleasant & Ph 430 New Jersey RR 446 Ph & Dover De 467 Pottsville & Ph 425 Newtown & Ph 460 Ph & Harrisburg 467 Pottsville & Reading 413 North Penn RR 450 Ph & Millville NJ 467 Reading” 429 NY & Harrisburg 448 Ph & Norfolk 472 Shamokin & Ph 459 NY & Ph 452 Ph & Ocean City 431 South Amboy & Ph 430 NY & Phila RR” 461 Ph & Paoli 422 Toms River & Ph 459 NY & Pitts (E. Div) 465 Ph & Perryville Md 423 Tuckerton NJ & Ph 435 NY & Wash 456 Ph & Pitts RR 435 Wash & NY 426 NY, Balt & Wash 464 Ph & Port Deposit Md 435 Wash & Phila RR” 433 NY Jamesburg & Ph 441 Ph & Port Norris NJ 435 Washington RR” 432 NY So Amboy & Ph 467 Ph & Pottsville” 440 West Jersey RR 434 NY Trenton & Ph 467 Ph & Reading” 417 West Trenton & Ph 436 NY Whitings & Ph 468 Ph & Salem NJ 471 Williamsport & Ph 457 Penn Central RR 463 Ph & West Chester 470 Wilmington RR” Philadelphia-related RPO Index by Terminus Name This index shows the terminus town found in markings, again having been previously divided into parent rail, line ownership groups, which are the arbitrary catalog numbers accompanying. New York alone has been excluded since such train lines would be through trains to other destination, though still serving Philadelphia passengers and freight companies.

428 Aiken 451 Cedar Brook 461 Paoli 422 Toms River 410 Allentown 419 Centennial 457 Penn Central RR 434 Trenton 458 Altoona 455 Columbia 465 Perryville 423 Tuckerton 430 Amboy 444 Crisfield 430 Philadelphia 427 Upland 437 Atlantic City 445 Delmar 459 Philadelphia 426 Washington 438 Atlantic City 446 Dover 456 Pittsburgh 435 Washington 439 Atlantic City 412 East Stroudsburg 459 Pittsburgh -E Div. 435 Washington 426 Baltimore 429 Harrisburg 421 Point Pleasant 435 Washington 462 Baltimore 460 Harrisburg 464 Port Deposit 435 Washington 470 Baltimore 420 Hightstown 441 Port Norris 463 West Chester 411 Belvidere 433 Jamesburg 467 Pottsville 440 West Jersey 414 Bethlehem 450 Millville 467 Pottsville 417 West Trenton 415 Binghampton 424 New Hope 467 Pottsville 436 Whitings 416 Bound Brook 430 New Jersey 467 Reading 469 Wildwood 442 Bridgeton 430 New York 467 Reading 471 Williamsport 418 Buffalo 435 New York 467 Reading 470 Wilmington 430 Camden 425 Newtown 468 Salem 470 Wilmington 447 Cape Charles 448 Norfolk 472 Shamokin 453 Winslow Junction 454 Cape May 413 North Penn 432 So Amboy 443 Wyoming 449 Cape May 452 Ocean City 431 South Amboy 54 Whole Number 241

A faulty marking (as so many early RPOs are): SO.AMB & PHILA. / RPO, the historic NY-South Amboy-Philadelphia Line. It is fortunately back stamped 1887. The ink mess at the right suggests the rails were not as bump-free as desired.

An 1849 pale green-gray BALTIMORE / RAIL ROAD, of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Baltimore rail line. It seems reasonable the dial name varied on the same route and indicated the terminal where the mail began its journey. (470g)

This early 1840’s? blue WEST CHESTER to Philadelphia cover also bears the inscription ‘per / car agent.’ Should we assume that means railroad agent on ‘the cars’? Perhaps the writer was giving his best guess instructions to the post office clerk as how to handle his important letter.

A very poor, undated, but interesting early marking from the PHIL & C.M. / AGT. on a 3c banknote, tells us that the Cape May NJ agent was a bit sleepy when he let this unsealed letter pass through. It transited Philadelphia, where it was marked as deficient (1446a), and sent on its way back into New Jersey to Trenton. To this day the envelope’s gum remains undisturbed. (449a) Spring 2010 55

Outgoing mail from Philadelphia to New England, quickly addressed to the famously named family of Samuel Slater & Sons by rail. His namesake ancestor smuggled English plans for America’s first factory design in the 1790’s. The straightforward blue dial NEW YORK & PHILA R.R. and circle-5 rate stamp are dated at Aug 18, 1847. (430c)

Allentown is 60 miles from Philadelphia and the ALLEN & PHILA / R.P.O. stamped letter took a route of the Northeast PA Turnpike Extension today. This is a fine non-philatelic use cover listed as #410b.

A pair of Harrisburg-bound letters, probably carried by the Philadelphia & Pittsburgh RR. Similar severely poor strikes have been seen uncommonly often to wonder; why? There is no lettering visible only two projecting number slugs on these covers dated August 1872 and April 1866. (456a?) 56 Whole Number 241 Chaplains in the Philippines: Blockade Mail

By Michael Dattolico In the November 2004 La Posta issue, Richard Helbock presented a capsulation of the Philippines military campaign from the Japanese attack on De- cember 8, 1941 to the American surrender in May, 1942. His article, “Mail Before the Fall,” was a sum- mary of events that accompanied an annotated cen- sus of mail that passed through the Japanese air/sea blockade. Assisted by Kurt Stauffer, Helbock featured 23 covers with relevant facts about each one. In his Publisher’s Page section, Richard called it the most “emotionally compelling” article he’d ever written. After reading it, I wholeheartedly agreed. Esteemed postal historian Robert D. Rawlins’ com- prehensive article, “Mail Before the Fall - Part II” appeared in the September 2005 issue. Rawlins fea- tured an additional 27 blockade covers and a greatly expanded base of knowledge about how each cover left the Philippines. Of particular value was his knowl- edge about the submarines that carried mail, their schedules of arrival and departure, other modes of transportation and a composite of information about each cover. Both authors emphasized the difficulty in recognizing Philippines mail from that period which partly explains why so few covers have been found. Much of the mail lacks postal markings and dates which would aid identification. Unattractive appearances and otherwise poor condition have caused collectors to inadvertently discard them. One wonders how many blockade cov- Figure 1 Newspaper account of a letter received from ers have been relegated to junk boxes over the years, the Philippines with very little identifiable information. or worse. Ironically, Americans at home who received Published in the Columbus Dispatch newspaper in April, the mail in early 1942 had nearly as much trouble rec- 1942. ognizing it as today’s postal historians (figure 1). A newly identified blockade cover shown as figure 2 Some blockade letters show APO numbers that differ is presented here for study The envelope was part of from those used at southwest Pacific army post of- a business correspondence purchased by a prominent fices after the Philippines’ fall. This has compounded dealer during the ‘90s Predictably, it was not identified the problem of identification. An APO plan for the because of the “unlisted” APO number and the ab- Philippines existed, but there is a paucity of knowl- sence of postal markings. A few knowledgeable postal edge about the short-lived system The absence of data historians examined it and declared it to be a forgery, about the earlier army mail plan is exacerbated by the or simply an oddity that defied explanation. The cover few records from the Philippines campaign itself. Avail- was tossed into a box where it laid until last fall Fortu- able documents contain little, if anything, about the nately, the astute dealer took a different investigative military mail system that was never fully implemented. approach, and a proper identification was made. The envelope was mailed in February, 1942 and was car- © Copyright reserved by author 2010 Spring 2010 57 By 1938, Cleveland was a regional chaplain in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).There he could indulge his two pas- sions – serving as a min- ister and working with young people. In January 1940, Reverend Cleve- land became pastor of the Memorial Boulevard Christian Church in St. Louis. Parishioners de- scribed him as “a fine person with young people who had a great follow- ing at the church.” For reasons that remain unclear, Cleveland applied for an army chaplain’s commission in early 1941. After a short stint at Fort Figure 2 This cover is one of the few verified examples of mail from APO #7, Corregidor. Leaven-worth, he was Sent by Chaplain Arthur Cleveland, it was carried by submarine in late February, 1942. ordered to the Philip- pines. Cleveland served ried by the U.S.S. Swordfish when it departed as chaplain to the 59th Coast Artillery Regiment at Fort Corregidor on February 24th. A retail book store near Mills from September, 1941 until Corregidor’s surren- Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio was the ad- der. He spent the next 2 ½ years as a Japanese pris- dressee. What solved the puzzle was learning who sent oner. (figure 3). the cover. It was an army chaplain who perished aboard one of Japan’s notorious “hell ships.” A scarcely researched subject is the Philippines chap- lains’ assistance with mail during the first six months of the war. There were 41 chaplains in the Philippines when the war began. Of that number, 36 were taken prisoner, and 20 were killed or died during captivity. The cover’s sender, Chaplain Arthur Cleveland, was typical of those serving in the Islands in 1941. Chaplain Arthur Cleveland Arthur Vern Cleveland was born in North Dakota on December 11, 1902. As a young man, he wanted to serve others either as a teacher or minister. Vexed by indecision, he moved from college to college, chang- ing his field of study until he realized his true vocation. Cleveland graduated from Drake University in 1926 with a degree in Theology and began his career as a minister in the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ. Cleveland also married in 1926; in 1928 his wife gave Figure 3 Photo of Chaplain Arthur Vern Cleveland birth to their only child, Wayne. taken in 1941 before departing for the Philippines.(August 29, 1942 St. Louis Dispatch-Post.) 58 Whole Number 241 Chaplains and Mail – Personal Experiences before the Attack By experiencing the lone- liness and isolation of over- seas duty themselves, chaplains recognized the value of mail in a person’s life. In their own corre- spondence, they ex- pressed a dire need for let- ters in the last days of peace. Father Joseph LaFleur, a young chaplain assigned to the 19th Bomb Group at Clark Air Base, wrote to his sister on No- Figure 4 Barracks inside Bilibid Prison, Manila. Corregidor captives were first vember 6, 1941: imprisoned there by the Japanese. (The Bataan Banner) …I am trying to write this Cleveland was first held at Bilibid prison in Manila. letter in time for the next clipper, which is scheduled to Near exhaustion, his vision failing, he nearly died from leave tomorrow morning. The men find the time long diptheria. The disease caused paralysis, and for a time out here far away from home… he was unable to speak. Even after Cleveland recov- ered, he was permanently lame. It was in this condi- LaFleur wrote to his sister in Louisiana again on No- th. tion that he was transferred to Cabanatuan in 1943. In vember 19 In a poignant letter he talked about his late 1944, Cleveland was sent back to Bilibid for trans- personal need for mail. fer to Japan (figure 4). …I need letters! Wish you could see the fellows On December 14, 1944, Chaplain Cleveland and other around here when we know that another clipper has come from the states. Wish you could see prisoners boarded the Oryoko Maru bound for Ja- the fellows here looking for their mail. To see the th pan. On the 15 the ship was attacked at Subic Bay life in those who received mail and the disap- by U.S. Navy planes. Cleveland was in the bow sec- pointment on the faces of those who get none! tion where a 500-pound bomb struck the ship. Some- Letters mean a lot way out here far from home…. how he survived the explosion. (figure 5). There are two versions of Cleveland’s death. One is Chaplain John Wilson was a Catholic priest at Fort that being lame and partially paralyzed, he was placed Stotsenberg who wrote about his need for mail before on a raft by other escaping prisoners. As it floated the attack. towards the open sea, a Japanese machine gunner …May I remind you that by boat the mail will opened fire, killing everyone. The other version was take thirty to forty days from the time of sending recounted by a Chaplain Robert Taylor who was there. to receiving. But the flights of clipper planes will Taylor reported that Cleveland could not swim and was cover the distance in four or five days…. kept afloat within a group of prisoners. Japanese sol- A depressed chaplain who had received no mail vented diers fired into the group, and Arthur Cleveland was his frustration in a December 2, 1941 letter to Indiana: killed. …My friend, I now know what Fitzgerald felt when he wrote about the dark night of the soul always being 3 o’clock in the morning. Can’t you send me just one letter, even if it’s to cluck about my buffoonery? Spring 2010 59

ing, chaplains regarded their men’s postal needs as paramount and rendered assistance any way they could. Chaplain Frederick “Ted” Howden was an ex- ample. He was assigned to the 200th Coast Ar- tillery Regiment (AA), a New Mexico National Guard outfit based at Clark Air Base. After the unit moved to Bataan, Howden wrote letters on his typewriter for men unable to write and av- idly encouraged those who could. He and Chap- lain Albert Braun worked together to get the men’s mail to Corregidor for transport by sub- marine. Chaplain Leslie Zimmerman stayed with the air corps contingent from Nichols Field that fought as infantry on Bataan. Every morning, regard- less of danger, he “walked the line” to chat with the men. Like Howden, Zimmerman collected their mail and forwarded it to Corregidor. Zimmerman managed to find paper for his sol- diers. But when envelopes became scarce, he managed a mailing system whereby his men sent their letters without envelopes. I have never seen an example of such mail. Chaplains on Bataan found themselves in a unique situation. Compared to other non-com- bat support personnel, they were not only able Figure 5 Photo of Army Chaplain Joseph V. La Fleur of but encouraged to move freely among units. To th Louisiana taken in 1941. Assigned to the 19 Bombardment assist them, vehicles were provided. Chaplain Group at Clark Air Base, he served the unit’s ground personnel “Preston” Taylor, for example, was given a truck on Bataan. Before his death in 1942, LaFleur defiantly wrote a st letter to his mother on the back of a milk-can label hidden by and driver by the commander of the 31 Infan- fellow prisoner Chaplain Hugh Kennedy, it was given to try. After his truck was strafed and destroyed, LaFleur’s mother in 1945. the commander gave Taylor his personal jeep and another driver. The Chaplains’ Actions after the Use of trucks, jeeps and motorcycles allowed the chap- Attack lains to form a mail collection network throughout the After the initial Japanese attacks, the Philippine Is- peninsula. Father John Duffy, formerly chief chaplain lands were in chaos. Installations were destroyed, of the North Luzon Force, spearheaded this effort. By communications were disrupted, and unit cohesion was moving along Bataan’s eastern coastal road, chaplains fragmented. Throughout December, however, Ameri- were able to collect mail from most units, especially can and Filipino troops managed to regroup and move from the hospitals. to the Bataan Peninsula. Chaplain Arthur Cleveland diligently used APO #7 for Chaplains were devoted to their men and accompa- his soldiers’ benefit. He extolled the most minor ac- nied them to Bataan. Those who had served at complishments of his men and wrote letters to the fami- Sternberg Hospital in Manila and other medical facili- lies of newly promoted soldiers (figure 6). Another th ties comforted patients at the two general hospitals on Corregidor chaplain, John K. Borneman of the 60 Bataan. Chaplains assigned to combat units at the front Coast Artillery (AA), was officially commended for lived with their men—in foxholes and the surrounding getting messages and letters to his men’s families. jungle—while striving to meet the soldiers’ spiritual and Borneman was one of six chaplains who served on emotional needs. Even in the midst of desperate fight- Corregidor. 60 Whole Number 241

Figure 6 Newspaper clipping regarding letter mailed to parents of soldier recently promoted. The letter was written by Chaplain Arthur Cleveland and mailed January 31, 1942 from Corregidor. The soldier’s parents received it in April, ’42 (Columbus Evening Dispatch)

Methodist Chaplain Perry O. Wilcox wrote letters for dying soldiers at Bilibid Prison (figure 7). It was a practice he continued after being freed in February, 1945. While convalescing at Fitzsimmons General Hospital in Denver, Wilcox launched a flurry of postal activity. Three stenographers were assigned to the bedridden chaplain, who spent several weeks dictat- ing personal letters to the next of kin of nearly 5,000 servicemen who died during the campaign Wilcox was 60 years old when he was captured in 1942. During the campaign, chaplains faithfully wrote let- ters to their own loved ones. Esther Cleveland told a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter in August 1942 about the last letter from her husband dated February 27th.. Figure 7 Letter written for a soldier at Bilibid Prison by It was a short note that ended with the hopeful line, Chaplain Perry Wilcox. The soldier was Corporal LaPrade Brown of the 192nd Tank Battalion. “…looking forward to the peace…”

Father John Wilson typed a letter on February 2, 1942 the Bataan hospitals. The contents hint at the chap- to a religious superior: lains’ flexibility of movement. Tiffany headed his Feb- Dear Provincial: There is a chance of this letter get- ruary 16th letter, ‘Base Hospital.’ ting through. I have had several narrow escapes, but My Dearest Tedda and Leslie. Here goes another so far I am whole. The enemy is brave beyond imag- letter. Do hope it reaches you in good shape. I am ining, and they are vicious fighters. Yours in Christ… still in hospital work, though I go out to the Presbyterian Minister Frank L. Tiffany was a prolific combat and service units to hold services…We have to use water for grape juice…It might not be correspondent with his wife and daughter. Formerly wise to say in a letter what the arrangement is. assigned to Sternberg Hospital in Manila, he served at Tell Leslie that daddy thinks of his little girl every Spring 2010 61

In a newspaper column called In the Army, Washing- ton correspondent Jack Stinnett wrote about the new V-Mail system to be inaugurated in 1942. Stinnett in- terviewed General William C. Rose, referred to as the ‘Army’s No1 Mailman,’ about V-Mail and the military postal situation. Rose gave an optimistic report about the movement of servicemen’s mail around the world. But he did include the terse statement, “The men on Bataan peninsula are the only men in our armed forces who are not getting mail from home.” (figures 9 & 10). By February, 1942, the Japanese suffered heavy losses, prompting General Homma to ask Tokyo for additional troops. While generals in Tokyo considered Homma’s request, the Japanese attacks on Bataan slowed while Homma regrouped and awaited Tokyo’s decision. In her book, We Band of Angels, Elizabeth Norman described the lull in fighting from mid-Febru- ary through March, 1942. Although no mail was arriv- ing, personnel used the opportunity to write more fre- quently. On February 26th, Army nurse Lt. Ruth Straub wrote in her diary:. Figure 8 Photos of Chaplain Herman Baumann of the …Wrote notes home. Wonder if they’ll ever get st 91 Coast Artillery Regiment (Philippine Scouts) based to the states We have had no mail since we left on Corregidor. Baumann survived the war. He died May Manila… 25, 1990 (The QUAN journal.) Lt. John P. Burns was a 21st Pursuit Squadron pilot stationed on Bataan. Burns kept a diary in day and is anxious to get back to her…Tell her which he often mentioned mail. daddy used one of the stories of her babyhood in my sermon…Love forever, Frank and daddy… December 17th: Sure wish we’d get some mail. Have last letter memorized by now. Father Herman C. Baumann, chaplain for the 91st Coast Artillery (PS) on Corregidor, wrote to his mother December 23rd: Censoring mail now. on May 4, 1942: December 29th: Two months today since I’ve had any mail …It’s almost time to go. Say a prayer for me. Per- th haps I’ll see you again someday… (figure 8). January 13 : Should write Jean and folks, but no use since no mail leaving anyhow.

Figure 9 Letter addressed to an American officer stationed at Fort McKinley in late November, 1941. It was likely detained at the San Francisco post office after the last clipper left for the Philippines. Note the absence of any APO number. 62 Whole Number 241

Figure 10 Letter sent to a soldier in the 192nd Tank Battalion in February, 1942. The intended recipient was Sergeant Harvey H. Riedeman of Company A, Wisconsin National Guard. Note the reference to “Plum,” the code word for the Philippines. Like figure 7, there is no APO number since Americans likely did not know about it. Riedeman survived two “hell ship” sinkings before dying at Moji, Japan in January, 1945. (Courtesy of Dan Mayo).

Lt. Burns was more upbeat about the postal situation Mr. Joe Vater, past commander of the American De- during the February-March pause in fighting. fenders of Bataan and Corregidor Association, was a rd February 23rd: Promoted to first lieutenant. Must member of the 803 Engineer Battalion. In a recent write to mother. interview, Joe spoke about his mail experiences during the campaign. At age 92, Vater possesses a clear rec- March 17th: Wrote letters to Jean and parents. ollection of those days. When asked about mail, he Also made out a will. replied that there wasn’t much time to write but he nd March 22 : “Whit” got in from Cebu, brought managed a few letters. When asked what he did with me two wires, Jean and parents! (Major Hervey them, Joe replied, “We dropped them off at headquar- Whitfield flew supplies from Mindanao to Bataan via Cebu.) ters.” April 4th: John Posten and Ray Gehrig brought A preponderance of evidence indicates that APO #2 two P-35s to Bataan Field with candy, cigarettes, referred to the Bataan Peninsula from January until quinine, cigars, brandy and MAIL! its surrender. The connection between letters on which APO #2 ‘2’ appears which were written by men from units on Bataan should be regarded as credible proof. One such While it is known that APO #7 operated on Corregidor, case is mail from Captain Charles D. Tinley to his wife speculation abounds about other APO locations. When in February and March, 1942. His wartime experiences postal numbers are seen on blockade covers, APO #2 were recounted by his daughter, Nancy Tinley Brown, is frequently observed. Except for personnel based in and published in The QUAN, journal of the American the southern islands, if a soldier was not on Corregidor, Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Association. he was serving on Bataan. Thousands of U.S. and Tinley was commander of the 54th Signal Maintenance Filipino troops were ensconced along Bataan’s main Company based at Nichols Field. When the Japanese line of resistance South of that line, compressed into attacked, his men were installing communications lines the peninsula were myriad combat units, two hospi- at Clark Field and Fort Stotsenberg. By late Decem- tals, at least two operational air fields and a number of ber, Tinley had gathered his men on Bataan to serve support organizations. Most important was the forward as infantry Captain. Tinley’s wife received letters writ- USAFFE headquarters established on Bataan by Gen- ten in February and March with the return address eral Richard J. Marshall on January 5th and relocated ‘APO #2, P.I.’ Tinley fought only on Bataan. on January 27, 1942. At least one letter from Red Cross nurse Catherine L. Intended to be MacArthur’s eyes and ears on the Nau showed the return address ‘APO 2, Bataan.’ Her Bataan front, the headquarters was the communica- letter was written in February but not received until tions link with Corregidor and nerve center from which May, 1942. Nau worked at both hospitals where she decisions governing the campaign emanated. Appar- reported that each hospital was treating nearly 7,000 ently, it served other functions. In his diary, Lt. John patients (figure 11). Burns mentioned going to “Finance” a few times on Bataan. It has been suggested that at or near the head- quarters was a post office. Spring 2010 63

is difficult to identify and remains elusive. An overall lack of records from the Philippines campaign adds to the postal historians’ confusion. Chaplains provided postal support during the campaign. They produced writing materials, encouraged their men to write letters and in many cases wrote letters for soldiers, especially those in hospitals. Individual chap- lains gathered and forwarded their men’s mail for move- ment to Corregidor. Freedom of movement and the mobility provided by vehicles allowed chaplains to form a collection network that reached most units on Bataan. There is still much to be learned about mail from the Figure 11 Nurse sitting on her cot at Bataan Hospital Philippines from December, 1941, until the surrender No2 circa March, 1942. Situated in the open jungle, the of Corregidor in May, 1942. But with the discovery of heavy tree growth served as a roof. At its peak, the blockade mail, the picture becomes clearer. hospital had 7,000 patients. (The Quan) Epilogue Other samples of mail with APO #2 were documented Many of the people mentioned in this article endured in Robert Rawlins’ article, and one would be remiss in Japanese confinement. Some were killed or died dur- not mentioning them. The PH08 envelope shows the ing captivity while others suffered different tragedies. return address as APO #2 Some curiosity is aroused Few survived unscathed. by the almost flawless preparation of the envelope. Chaplain Robert Taylor, the Baptist minister who wit- That a typewriter was used suggests that Pfc. McVay nessed Arthur Cleveland’s death, survived and re- may have been a clerk. If that was his job, his excel- mained on active duty. He retired as an Air Force gen- lent language skills prepared him well. Except for the eral and died in 1970 (figure 12). cross-outs in the recipient’s address, the envelope’s preparation is impeccable. Then, too, McVay might have been a hospital patient, and a chaplain’s type- writer was used. PH23 was sent from Captain Harold Walden Collins, commander of Company C, 192nd Tank Battalion. The ‘2’ in the upper left corner likely referred to the return address. Company C/192nd Tank Battalion arrived near northern Bataan in December and was in almost con- stant combat for nearly four months. Collins died of wounds on January 20, 1945. PH33 was sent by Private Ralph J. Herrcke with a return address of APO #2. Records indicate Herrcke was part of the 7th Materiel Squadron from Clark AB. After Clark’s destruction, flying personnel moved to Mindanao while Clark’s ground troops fought as in- fantry on Bataan. Captured when Bataan surrendered, Herrcke died at Camp O’Donnell in May, 1942.

Conclusion Figure 12 Chaplain Robert P. Taylor, regimental chaplain of the 31st U.S. With few discernible postal markings or mailing dates, Infantry (1941). plain appearance, and APO numbers that do not con- form to those of a later period, mail sent from the Phil- ippines between December 7/8, 1941 and May 6, 1942 64 Whole Number 241

Chaplain Joseph V. LaFleur of Louisiana died aboard General William C. Rose served as assistant Adjutant- the Shinyo Maru on September 5, 1942. General from 1941 through 1942. Until 1945 he was Chief of the Military Division, War Manpower Com- Chaplain John K. Borneman survived the war. mission. After the war, Rose was chief of staff to the Chaplain Perry Wilcox survived the war. He died in High Commissioner of the Philippines. He retired in 1972. 1946 and died in 1973. Chaplain John Anthony Wilson survived the war. He Elizabeth M. Norman, PhD, is a professor at New died on April 7, 1992. York University. Chaplain Frederick Howden died on July 1, 1943 at Army Nurse Lt. Ruth Straub was evacuated from the Davao Penal Colony. Corregidor before its surrender. She returned to Mil- Chaplain Albert W. Braun survived the war. He died waukee, Wisconsin after the war. on October 10, 1981 at age 92 (figure 13). Lt. John P. Burns died April 13, 1942 at Del Monte Field, Mindanao. He crashed while landing his P-40 fighter. The plane exploded, and Burns died inside the cockpit. His diary was taken off a dead Japanese sol- dier on New Guinea in 1943. It was returned to his family after the war. Captain Charles Tinley died at Camp Tanagawa, Ja- pan on February 2, 1943. John Hay graduated from the Davidson College (Ten- nessee) and received his army commission in the school’s R.O.T.C. program. Hay’s commander at Davidson in 1937 was Colonel Charles Steel. During st Figure 13 Father Albert Braun, regimental chaplain of the Battle of Bataan, the 31 U.S. Infantry was pressed nd the 45th Infantry (Philippine Scouts) based on northern by the enemy and needed tank support. The 192 Tank Luzon. He and Chaplain “Ted” Howden worked Battalion’s Company C was nearby and effectively together on Bataan. maneuvered to relieve the infantrymen. The tanks were led by Lt. John Hay. Colonel Charles Steel was 31st Chaplain Frank L. Tiffany died aboard the Arisan infantry commander. Neither man knew the other was Maru on October 24, 1944. involved, but Colonel Steel credited the tank com- Chaplain Herman C. Baumann survived the war. He mander with saving his men and the battle. After the died in May, 1990. fight, both men were patients in the hospital. In fact, Chaplain John E. Duffy survived the war. He died in they were in cots next to each other. 1958 (figure 14). Entering the picture was Captain William Dawson, a Baptist chaplain assigned to the 31st Infantry but tem- porarily helping at the hospital. Colonel Steel introduced Hay, coincidentally the son of a Presbyterian minister, and Chaplain Dawson, and the two men became friends. Lt. Hay brought 77 other men with him to one of Dawson’s Wednesday night prayer meetings, much to the chaplain’s delight. A ship carrying mail was sunk in February, 1942 by a Japanese submarine. Amazingly, a mail sack was pulled from the ocean, and the contents were delivered to the United States. Some of the mail was from Com- pany C, 192nd Tank Battalion based at Port Clinton, Ohio. One letter written on February 8th by 2/Lt. John Figure 14 Chaplain John E. Duffy, chief chaplain of the Hay was contained in the batch of mail. He wrote the North Luzon Force and personal friend of General MacArthur. Spring 2010 65 letter to his parents while he was a patient in the hospital. The people and events involving Hay’s letter are uncanny. John Hay’s February 8th letter, published verbatim in his unit biography, was eleven lengthy paragraphs. To have written it by hand would have taken a number of pages. It should be noted that when the letter was written, there was a severe paper shortage. The dearth of paper was such that headquarters officers were writing orders on the back of used mimeograph paper. The letter was probably typed, possibly on Dawson’s typewriter by Hay or by the chaplain himself. Dawson was part of the chaplains’ mail collection network, which might have ensured that Hay’s letter found its way to Corregidor and an outgoing ship. Such were the efforts made by chaplains on behalf of their men Sadly, 2/Lt. John Frederick Hay died at Camp O’Donnell on October 18, 1942.

Attachment A Known Chaplain Prisoners in the Philippines NAME UNIT & LOCATION DECEASED RELIGION Herman C. Baumann 91st CA (PS) Corregidor 5/25/90 Roman Catholic John K. Borneman CA (AA) Corregidor Unknown Presbyterian Albert W. Braun 5th Inf. (PS)Luzon 10/10/81 Roman Catholic Earl R. Brewster (Navy) USS Canopus & Holland 8/29/59 Protestant Ralph W.D. Brown Clark AB Luzon 1/31/45 Methodist * Richard E. Carberry 45 Inf. (PS) Luzon 1/4/45 Roman Catholic + Arthur V. Cleveland 59th CA Corregidor 12/15/44 Christian Church+ William T. Cummings Sternburg Hospital, Manila 1/28/45 Roman Catholic John J. Curran 88th F.A. (PS) Luzon 3/4/72 Roman Catholic+ William Dawson 31st Infantry; Hospital #2 12/16/44 Baptist + Morris E. Day 31st Infantry; Ft. McKinley 9/7/42 Baptist + Samuel E. Donald Corregidor; Bataan 1/11/95 Methodist John E. Duffy Chaplain-North Luzon Force 6/4/58 Roman Catholic John J. Dugan 18th Medical RGT, Bataan 12/6/64 Roman Catholic Carl W. Hausmann Del Monte Field, Mindanao 1/45 Roman Catholic + Frederick B. Howden, Jr. 200th CA (AA), Clark AB 7/1/43 Roman Catholic * Hugh F. Kennedy 101st Division (PS) 8/3/55 Roman Catholic Joseph V. LaFleur 19th Bomb GP. Clark AB 9/5/42 Roman Catholic + John J. McDonnell 57th Infantry (PS) 1/22/45 Roman Catholic + Francis J. McMannus (Navy) USS Canopus 10/44 Protestant * Edward J. Nagel Lubuagan-Luzon 2/1/45 United Brethren * James W. O’Brien Nichols Field, Manila 10/24/44 Roman Catholic + Eugene J. O’Keefe 61st F.A., Mindanao 12/5/47 Roman Catholic Alfred C. Oliver Chief Chaplain, Corregidor 1958 Methodist David L. Quinn (Navy) Chaplain, Cavite Station 1/45 Episcopalian + Stanley J. Reilly Corps Chaplain, II Corps 8/8/73 Roman Catholic Thomas J. Scecina Ft. McKinley (PS) 10/24/44 Roman Catholic + Henry B. Stober 14th Engineers, Bataan 1/12/45 Roman Catholic * Albert D. Talbot Sternburg Hospital, Manila 6/21/62 Roman Catholic Robert P. Taylor 31st Infantry, Luzon 1970 Baptist Frank L. Tiffany Sternburg Hospital, Manila 10/24/44 Presbyterian + Herbert R. Trump (Navy) 2nd Bn-4th Marine Regiment 1/27/45 Lutheran + Joseph G. Vanderheiden Del Monte AB, Mindanao 1/20/45 Roman Catholic + Perry O. Wilcox Fort Mills, Corregidor 5/30/72 Methodist John A. Wilson Ft. Stotsenburg, Luzon 4/7/92 Roman Catholic Mathias E. Zerfas 26th Cavalry (PS) Luzon 1/9/45 Roman Catholic + Leslie F. Zimmerman Nichols Field, Manila 2/24/99 Christian Church + indicates death aboard Japanese ship. * indicates death in prison camp. 66 Whole Number 241

Notes References 1. Re: General Richard Jaquelin Marshall, quartermaster officer. Pro- Roper, Richard S., Brothers of Paul. Activities of Prisoner moted to Brigadier-General December, 1941. It was he who was of War chaplains in the Philippines during WW II. The tasked with moving MacArthur’s Manila headquarters to Corregidor December 24, 1941. Revere Printing Company, Odenton, Maryland. Copy- right 2003. Executive Order #1 issued on January 3, 1942 by Manuel Quezon transferred $640,000 from the Philippines treasury to the personal Photo of Cleveland, (Captain Army Chaplain) Arthur V., bank accounts of MacArthur, General Richard Sutherland, General [MIA] #8/29/42 p.5a. The St. Louis Public Library, 1301 Richard Marshall and Colonel Sidney L. Huff. Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63103. Keith 2. Addendum to Attachment 1, Roster of Chaplains. Another chap- Zimmer.www.slpl.lib.mo.us./libsrc/obit42a.htm lain who was active on behalf of prisoners was Father William R. McCarthy. He was a civilian Catholic priest who remained after the World War II Prisoners of War, 1941-1946 – Ancestry.com December 7th attack. As a non-military religious person, Father http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ McCarthy was imprisoned at Cebu City and Santo Tomas. He was sse.dll?rank=1&gsfn=arthur+v.&gsln=cleveland&gsb2c freed by the 11th U.S. Airborne at Los Banos on February 23, 1945. World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Interred Over- 3. Initial location (January 5, 1942) of the forward echelon head- quarters established on Bataan was KM 187.5, northwest of Mariveles, seas – Ancestry.com http://search.ancestry.com/cgi- near a quarry at the junction of West Road and Rock Road. http:// bin/sse.dll?rank=1&=2c%2c%2c% www.fourthmarinesband.com/guard.htm U.S. Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939-1945 4. Identity of nurse in Figure 11 picture was Army Lt. Imogene www.ancestry.com Kennedy. Monthly Roster, Personnel, 59th CAC, 31 March 1942. 5. Censorship Directive. Executive Order 8985. Established the Office of Censorship and designated its functions and duties – De- Compiled 3 November 2003 by Paul F. Whitman, cember 19, 1941. Preamble cites Section 303, Title III of the Act of Corregidor Historical Society. December 18, 1941, Public Law 354, 77th U.S. Congress. It named the Postmaster-General as Chairman of the Board. Paragraph 5 stated: Helbock, Richard. “APO in the Philippines” February 1, “As used in this order, the term ‘United States’ shall be construed to 2009. http://webmail.aol.com/41095.aol/en-us/ include the territories and possessions of the United States, including mail.PrintMessage.aspx the Philippine Islands.” Knox, Donald. Death March: The Survivors of Bataan. 6. The complete text of Father Joseph V. LaFleur’s “milk-can label” Harcourt Brace & Company, New York, New York. letter can be found on page 3 of “But He Dies Not – The Story of Rev. J. Verbis LaFleur – iReport.com http://www.ireport.com/docs/ Copyright 1981. DOC-21156 Helbock, Richard W., Mail Before the Fall: Correspon- 7. The Figure 10 illustration cover was #09b028 in Dann Mayo’s dence from U.S. Military Forces in the Philippines, De- sales. Mayo gave full permission to use the image. cember, 1941 to May 1942. La Posta: A Journal of [email protected] American Postal History, Volume 35, Number 5, Whole 8. The Figure 1 newspaper clipping can be found in the Columbus Number 209, October-November, 2004. Pages 34-48. Dispatch, April 4, 1942, page 2. Rawlins, Robert D., Mail Before the Fall, Part II: Corre- 9. The Figure 10 letter’s addressee, Sgt. Harvey Riedeman, was wounded in the explosion of the Brazil Maru. He was taken to Moji spondence from U.S. Military Forces in the Philip- prisoner hospital where he died on February 4, 1945. The official pines, December 1941 to May 1942. La Posta: A Jour- cause of death, according to the Japanese, was dysentery. nal of American Postal History, Volume 36, Number 4, 10. Partial listing of non-flying aviation and/or other support units Whole Number 214. Pages 9-22. on Bataan. Some were converted to infantry duties. Biography of Major-General William Clayton Rose, as part of The Generals of WWII. http://generals.dk/general/ 7th Material Sq. 2nd Observation Sq. 27th Material Sq. 89th Qm. Bn. Rose/William_Clayton/USA.html th 28 Material Sq. 724th Ordnance Co. Stinnett, Jack, “Mail Is Photographed For Easy Ship- 454th Ordnance Co. 74th Qm. Co. (Bakery) 698th Ordnance Co. 693rd Ordnance Co. ment,” Washington New Bureau. February, 1942. Syn- 185th Qm. Co. 440th Ordnance Co. dicated column, In the Army. Appeared in Columbus 4th Chemical Co. 429th Signal Maint. Co. Citizen-Journal, Columbus, Ohio. 17th Ordnance Co.(Armd) 701st Ordnance Co. 809th MP Co. 2nd Qm. Co. Norman, Elizabeth M., We Band of Angels. The Random 48th Material Sq. 745th Ordnance Co. House, New York, NY, Copyright 1999. Air Warning Svc. Co. 680th Ordnance Co. 228th Signal Ops. Co. 91st Qm. Bn. Tomblin, Barbara Brooks, G.I. Nightingales – The Army 75th Ordnance Co. Nurse Corps in World War II. The University Press of Kentucky. Copyright 1996 Morris, Eric. The American Alamo of World War II – Corregidor. Published by Cooper Square Press. Copy- right 1981. Spring 2010 67

Morton, Louis. The Fall of the Philippines. Center of Mili- tary History, United States Army, Washington, D.C. DK Enterprises Government Printing Office, Copyright 1953. http:// www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/f-2/5- World-Wide Postal History 2_Contents.htm Morton, Louis & MacDonald, Stuart C., The Fall of the both commercial and philatelic Philippines-Sources, Pages 585-587. http:// · Censored, Military, Naval www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_Sources.htm · P.O.W., Internment Camp Mail “I wonder at times how we keep going here”: The 1941-42 · US/WW Postal History · US/WW Stamps and Collections Philippines diary of Lt. John P. Burns, 21st Pursuit · State/Federal/Foreign Revenues Squadron. Air Power History, Winter, 2006 by William · Always Buying. Let us know what you have. H. Bartsch. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/ · Visa/Mastercard accepted mi_hb310/is_4_53/ai_n29316934/ · Free shipping on orders over $50.00 pg_1?tag=content;coll Visit my online store “A Chaplain on the Bataan Death March”, The Army http://www.dickkeiser.com Chaplaincy, Winter-Spring 2006, by Chaplain (Colonel) or inquire about what’s in stock. New items Cecil B. Currey, Ret. http://www.usachcs.army.mil/ TACarchive/ws06acmag/currey.html are constantly added to the website. Email: [email protected] “Beyond This Place: Chaplain POWs in the Pacific The- Dick Keiser ater”, The Army Chaplaincy, Winter-Spring 2006, by Chaplain (Colonel) Hanson R. Boney. Page 4. http:// DK Enterprises www.usachcs.army.mil/TACarchive/ws06acmag/ 9960 Silverdale Way NW #11 boney.html Silverdale, Wa 98383 Class of 1998 – Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame. Induction of 360.692.3818 Chaplain John E. Duffy. Biography pages 1-2. http:// Store Hours: Mon – Sat 1030 to 1800 dvs.ohio.gov/veterans_hall_of_fame/inductees/ After hours. 360.271.9026 class_of_1998.aspx Brown, Nancy Tinley., Profile-Captain Charles D. Tinley. Published in The QUAN, Volume 59, No. 1, page 11, June, 2004. “A Tribute to the 803rd Engineers” The QUAN, Volume 59, Don Tocher No. 1, pages 9-10, June, 2004. U.S. Classics, “But He Dies Not – The Story of Rev. J. Verbis LaFleur”, Stamps iReport.com, Pages 1-3. http://www.ireport.com/docs/ DOC-21156 and Postal History

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POSTAL HISTORIANS ON LINE Continued from page 8 Louise Wile [postcards, Bucks Co. PA pmks] — [email protected] David Williams [NY: Broome Co; NY State Star cancels] — [email protected] & www.broome-county-postal-history.com Richard F. Winter [transatlantic mail] — [email protected] Kirk Wolford [Dealer. Collects US pcs & stationery, military postal History (all services), US p.h., possessions, & airmail] — [email protected] Wayne Worthington [Dealer, Collects CZ military ph] — [email protected] John Wright [Dealer] — [email protected] Ken Wukasch [Columbian Expo postal history] — [email protected] Robert J. Zamen [Machine cancels & IL] — [email protected] Nicholas Zevos [Postal history of Northern New York] — [email protected] POSTAL HISTORY SOCIETIES (Listed by request) (For a Listing of ALL U.S. State Postal History Societies see the Empire State Postal History Society)— http://www.esphs.org/ usphsoc.html Machine Cancel Society—http://www.machinecancel.org Michigan [Peninsular State Philatelic Society, Michagan’s Postal History Society] — http://www.home.earthlink.net/~efisherco/ Military Postal History Society—http://www.militaryphs.org Mobile Post Office Society — http://www.eskimo.com/~rkunz/ mposhome.html Postal History Society — http://www.stampclubs.com/phs/index.htm Postmark Collectors Club — http://www.postmarks.org The Postal History Foundation— [email protected] San Francisco Postal History Double Feature

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La Posta Backnumbers United States Post Offices Backnumbers of La Posta may be purchased Volume 8 - The Southeast from: Sherry Straley Now Available on CD 1731 Howe Ave PMB 452 Sacramento, CA 95825 Complete searchable data base of An index of all backnumbers through Volume all US post offices that have ever 28 has been completed by Daniel Y. Meschter and is available on the La Posta website at operated in Alabama, Florida, www.la-posta.com. Georgia & South Carolina To order backnumbers call Sherry at 916-359- 1898, fax 916-359-1963 or send her an E-mail Dates of Operation, County Location and at [email protected]. Scarcity Index Price to La Posta subscribers: $17.50 ppd.

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[email protected] or [email protected] Spring 2010 73 Both Almost Out Of Print! A Price Guide to U.S. A.P.O. Cancels of the Second World War By Jim Forte & Richard W. Helbock $ 15.00 1996, 136p, Softbound. Includes background text plus numeric listing, locations by date, rarity and demand scales, and pricing. A must for the World War II postal history student. This is another one of those rather amazing little books that become virtually priceless to the modem postal historian-especiall y the student of the soldiers mai l from United States forces throughout the world during the Second World War. Even if you're only a casual collector of any form of U.S. wartime mail, you will fi nd this book a constant invaluable reference. NOTE: Fewer than 20 copies remain. Send f or yours tmlay! Combat Infantry Mail:

A Catalog of Postmarks Used COMBAT INFANTRY MAIL: A CAf Al OG OP' POSTMARKS II USED BYWORL.D WAR II U.S.INFANTlliYOMSIOMS by World War U.S. 1991. 152p, Sftbound. Covers each of the 72 combat divisions, five Air­ Infantry Divisions borne divisions and the Mountain In­ By Richard W. Helbock $24.00 fantry division. Illustrates postmarks. location movements. APO numbers and much more. A great companion volume to the Forte and Helbock APO By Richard w. Hetboek Priced Gu ide shown above. Consider this: If you acquire this • ORDER FORM • special book along with the U.S. Quan. ttle: Price: A. P.O. Price Guide listed above, you U.S A PO Pnce Guide will have a one-two combination that wi ll provide you with vital reference information Combat Infantry Mall on WW ll military mails. We would not be understating things by saying that. if you have one you'll need the other! Shopping Ad

Searching for HOLMES COUNTY, OHIO COVERS Alaska Collectors Club APS Affiliate #218 Berlin – ms, CDS, and especially Straight Line Cancels on Stampless. Baddow Pass Manning Dedicated to developing a wider interest in the study Becks Mills Morgan Settlement* and preservation of Alaska’s Postal History. Benton* Mount Hope* Black Creek* Nashville* We are a wide-ranging group of collectors who are Buena Vista before 16 Feb 1852 Paint Valley interested in all aspects of the postal history of Alaska. Clark’s* Palladium From the first covers under United States ownership to Clark Pictoria DeWitts Ridge Prarie* the latest events, we try to cover the gamut of Alaska Dino Salt Creek* postal history. Doughty Saltillo Some of our features: Drake’s* Special Farmerstown Stilwell ™Quarterly Journal, The Alaskan Philatelist Grade Trail ™Auctions of Alaska material Hard Tuttleville* ™Fellowship with other Alaska collectors Holmesville* Walnut Creek Humpreys Villa* Walnutcreek 1895-06 Humpreyville Ward’s* Dues $15.00, information available from: Jones Corner Winesburgh* Killbuck* Eric Knapp Lakeville Secretary/Treasurer 4201 Folker Street, Unit 102 * = Stampless Anchorage, AK 99508 -5377 E-mail: [email protected] Write/E-Mail Call: Larry Neal, 8650 Twp. Rd. 79 Millersburg, OH 44654 (330) 674-0919 [email protected]

ARIZONA - NEW MEXICO POSTAL HISTORY SOCIETY

SEEKS NEW MEMBERS, WHO SEEK NEW MATERIAL, NEW INFORMATION AND NEW FRIENDS ATTENTION POSTAL HISTORY & LITERATURE DEALERS DUES $10 ANNUALLY Trade discounts are available on United States Post Offices, Volumes 1-8, Receive “The Roadrunner” as well as other La Posta Publications. Quarterly Newsletter WRITE OR CALL: Trade Duplicates at Winter and Summer Meetings James E. Lee, P.O. Drawer 36, Contact: J. L. Meyer, Cary, IL 60013-0036 Voice: 847-462-9130 20112 West Point Dr., Fax: 847-462-9140 Riverside, CA 92507 Spring 2010 75

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Treat Your Ponies Right! Pony Express Covers Benefit from Philatelic Foundation Certificates Your Stamps and Covers Will, Too ony Express covers are among the most popular and valuable U.S. postal history items. Herds of them have been examined by the expetts at The Philatelic Foundation. After Pcareful study, this lovely cover with a $1 Pony Express stamp on a 10¢ green entire and a blue oval Running Pony cancellation was determined to be genuine in all respects by our experts. Why do savvy collectors and knowledgeable dealers turn to Tbe Philatelic Foundation for their opinions? Because PF opinions are respected and add additional value to genuine stamps and covers. Simply put, many stamps and covers are worth more with a PF Certificate than without one. Submit Your Stamps and Covers Today for a PF Certificate The same experts who worked on this Pony Express cover will examine your stamps and covers. These expe1ts will access the same multimillion-dollar reference collection, apply decades of scholarship and issue an opinion you can trust. Call 1-212-221-6555 or visit www.PhilatelicFoundation.org today to download a submission form. Fill out the one-page form and send it to us with your stamp or cover. Reward yourself with the security of a Philatelic Foundation Certificate- the gold standard of philatelic certificates for over 60 years. The Philatelic Foundation 70 West 40th Street, 15th Floor Nav York, NY 10018 (212) 221-6555 www. PhilatehcFoundation or g 76 Whole Number 241

INTRODUCING EXPONET THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL ON-LINE PHILATELIC EXHIBITION

EXPONET (http://www.exponet.info) is a virtual, non-competitive international philatelic exhibit with more than 380 entries. With EXPONET, collectors can present their postal history and stamp collections on-line. EXPONET was started in 2004, and is now an integral part of the philatelic web site JAPHILA. It is written in English, and also translated into several other languages. It has been viewed by 2 million visitors so far! The aim of EXPONET is to provide a permanent presentation of high quality philatelic exhibits, and to facilitate on-line study for visitors throughout the world. Our intention is to make exhibit-viewing available to everybody, regardless of distance, and to promote the philatelic hobby. Exhibiters are not charged an entry fee, and criteria for exhibiting on EXPONET are explained on-line. In-brief, exhibits must be interesting, of high quality, and have some philatelic value. It’s no problem to show a good exhibit which so far hasn’t been exhibited or awarded. On the other hand, we don’t accept an exhibit which isn’t well worked through—even if it has been previously awarded. We don’t limit the size of the exhibit, but the optimal size is 5 to 10 frames, which meets APS and FIP regulations. High quality scans are a necessity. Exhibits are classified in three groups, with professionally juried awards. 1. Hall of Fame - Exhibits which have achieved high awards at national and international shows will be classified in the Hall of Fame. 2. Very fine and outstanding exhibition 3. Open Class for exhibits having achieved Bronze, new exhibits, youth exhibits, etc. EXPONET was founded by private individuals: 1. Milan Cernik, collector of postal stationery, exhibitor, and philatelic auctioneer at www.pac-auction.com 2. Bretislav Janik, webmaster-Japhila daily magazine www.japhila.cz; Secretary-World Stamp Exhibit Committee, Prague-1988. 3. Vit Vanicek, vice-president of the Union of Czech Philatelists and President-World Stamp Exhibit Committee-Prague-2008. VISIT EXPONET AT http://www.exponet.info Contact: Milan Cernik, [email protected] or Bretislav Janik, [email protected]

PROFESSIONAL POSTMARK TRACING & MAPS I will execute to your exact specifications accurate tracings of plain or fancy postmarks, cancels and maps. My work has appeared in La La Posta Backnumbers Posta in both the Washington Territorial postmark series by Richard A. Long and the Backnumbers of La Posta may be purchased 19th Century Colorado postmark series by from: Richard Frajola. Sherry Straley If you’ve been thinking of a postmark 1731 Howe Ave PMB 452 catalog project, or any research which requires Sacramento, CA 95825 well-executed postmarks or maps for An index of all backnumbers through Volume illustrations, but do not have the time required to 28 has been completed by Daniel Y. Meschter accomplish the tracings, drop me a line or give and is available on the La Posta website at me a call with the particulars, and I will give you www.la-posta.com. a quote. To order backnumbers call Sherry at 916-359- JANE DALLISON 1898, fax 916-359-1963 or send her an E-mail P. O. BOX 296, LANGLOIS, OR 97450 at [email protected]. Spring 2010 77 TOWNS: WANTED

LA POSTA PHILLIPS COUNTY, MONTANA. I am devel- oping a personal collection of postal history of the post offices which have existed in CLASSIFIED ADS Phillips County, MT. (This is the county in which I was born and grew to adulthood). I ONLY 5 CENTS PER WORD DELIVERS YOUR MESSAGE TO THE LARGEST hope to acquire postal covers and postcards AND BEST INFORMED GROUP OF POSTAL HISTORIANS IN A MERICA (especially PPAs) from all these post offices. The collection dates will span from approxi- Word Count 1 issue 3 issues 6 issues mately 1900 to 1970. Among the postmarks/ post offices for which I am still looking are: 1-25 $1.25 $3.12 $5.94 Alkali, Bellealta, CeeKay, Cole, Cowan, 26-30 $1.50 $3.75 $7.14 Freewater, Greve, Leedy, Legg, Lonesome, 31-35 $1.75 $4.35 $8.28 Lost Lake, Strater, Waleston, Whitcomb, 36-40 $2.00 $4.98 $9.48 Ynot and Zenon...and others. Please send 41-45 $2.25 $5.61 $10.68 descriptions or photocopies/scans with ask- 46-50 $2.50 $6.24 $11.88 ing price, by e-mail or postal mail to: Evert 51-55 $2.75 $6.84 $13.02 Bruckner, 1724 Morning Dove Lane, 56-60 $3.00 $7.47 $14.22 Redlands, CA 92373. e-mail: 61-65 $3.25 $8.10 $15.42 [email protected] [41-1] 66-70 $3.50 $8.73 $16.62 71-75 $3.75 $9.33 $17.76 NORTH DAKOTA: all postal history wanted 76-80 $4.00 $9.96 $18.96 from territorial to modern. Send photocopies 81-85 $4.25 $10.59 $20.16 or on approval. Gary Anderson, P.O. Box 86-90 $4.50 $11.22 $21.36 600039, St. Paul, MN 55106 41-1] 91-95 $4.75 $11.82 $22.50 96-100 $5.00 $12.45 $23.70 SPOKANE FALLS / SPOKANE, WA. 1872- date wanted: Territorial, registered, postage due, certified, commercial airmail, foreign destinations, unusual station cancels, us- FOR SALE: COVERS ages, and postal markings. Send descrip- SOCIETIES tion or photocopies/scans to Larry Mann, 655 Washington PL SW, Mukilteo, WA 98275 DPO’s, RPO’s, ships, Doanes, Expos, ma- COLLECT CANADA/B.N.A.? Consider [email protected] [41-1] chines, military, advertising, auxiliaries, and BNAPS! The society offers study groups; pub- more! My Mail Bid Sales offer thousands of lications; annual exhibitions; and online library WESTPORT WA Collector seeking older ad- postal history lots. Write/ call for sample bnapstopics.org! View: www.bnaps.org. Con- vertising covers and pre-1950 postcards from catalog. Jim Mehrer, 2405-30th Street, Rock tact: P. Jacobi, Secretary, #6-2168 150 A Westport, WA. Contact: Douglas Olson, PO Island, IL 61201. Phone: (309) 786-6539. Street, Surrey, BC Canada V4A 9W4 [41-1] Box 2177, Westport, WA 98595 [41-1] Email: [email protected]. Internet web site: http://www.postal-history.com. FOR SALE: COVERS [42-1] POSTAL HISTORY featured in our mail bid sales. Free catalogs. Juno Stamps, 2180 TOWNS:WANTED NOTE: Hartford Ave., St. Paul, MN 55116-1010. All States and categories wanted! Better [email protected] [41-1] EXPIRATION DATE SHOWN consignment material always needed for my bi-monthly Mail Bid Sales. Write/ call for con- AT END OF EACH AD, i.e., DO YOU COLLECT State Postal History, signment details. Jim Mehrer, 2405-30th [41-1], MEANS AD WILL Doane Cancels or cancels of any kind? Now Street, Rock Island, IL 61201. Phone: EXPIRE WITH THIS ISSUE. 38 States online plus Dakota Territory and (309) 786-6539. Email: mehrer@postal- more coming. Over 9000 covers online history.com. Internet web site: AD DEADLINE FOR NEXT with1500 of them pictured. Website: http:// http://www.postal-history.com. [42-1] ISSUE: www.towncancel.com/ Gary Anderson, P.O. Box 600039, St. Paul, MN. 55106. Email: [email protected]. [41-1] CALIFORNIA - KERN & IMPERIAL County covers and cards. Especially interested in COVER AUCTIONS, NAVY/MILITARY; Clas- Bakersfield corner cards. Send description sics; Submarines; Surface Ships; Locations; or photocopies and prices to John Williams, May 10, 2010 APO;s; POSTCARDS; MEMORABILIA. Mix- 887 Litchfield Ave., Sebastopol, CA 95472 ture of commercial; philatelic; wartime cov- [41-1] ers. Free illustrated catalogues. Jim Smith (USCS, MPHS), Box 512, Oshtemo, Michi- gan 49077 [41-1] 78 Whole Number 241 MILITARY: WANTED DOANE CANCELS: FOREIGN: WANTED WANTED ALASKA & WESTERN CANADA APOs, COMMERCIAL AIR air covers, 1945 or interesting Pan American (Scott 294-299) earlier, any intercontinental mail, i.e, Europe Buy, sell and trade Doane Cancels of all issues on cover and Pittsburgh/Allegheny to Asia, North America to Africa, Australia to states. Send photocopies or on approval. County covers from 1851-1861. Send Europe, etc. Send scans or photocopies for Gary Anderson, P.O. Box 600039, St. Xeroxes or scans and pricing to Bob my offer, or on approval to Richard Helbock, Paul, MN 55106 [41-4] McKain, 2337 Giant Oaks Drive, Pittsburgh, PO Box 100, Chatsworth Island, NSW PA 15241 ([email protected]) [41-2] 2469, Australia or [email protected] PREXIES: WANTED WANTED ON APPROVAL: KOREAN WAR WANTED: MISCELLANY COVERS, 1950-1953 with U.S. MARINES re- URGENTLY NEED 4½¢ Prexies for collection. Looking for covers, proofs, turn addresses & postmarks that read U.S. US & POSSESSIONS POST OFFICE SEALS: printing varieties. Anything that fits into a NAVY/12867 Br./Unit No., also 14009, 14011, on/off cover, Scott listed and unlisted. specialized collection. Describe with 14012, 14021. Also, ship covers sent by Ma- Especially need Ryukyu and Philippine asking price. Howard Lee, Box 2912, rines while on active Korean war duty; also material. Also want worldwide official Delmar, CA 92014. Tel: 858-350-7462. collect stamped mail & Registered (not free- seals on cover. Send photocopies or Email: [email protected] [41-1] franked) from any service branch in Korea scans with asking price. Jim Kotanchik, PO from June 27 1950 – Dec 31, 1950. Please Box 684, West Acton, MA 01720-0684, send scans and prices to Cath Clark, SUB-STATION POSTAL email: [email protected] 41-61 [email protected] MARKINGS: WANTED LITERATURE: FOR SALE COLUMBIAN COVERS: SUB-STATION postal markings containg “sub” dated between 1889 and 1912 from 19th Century Cleveland, Ohio Postal WANTED any US city. Send photocopies to Dennis Markings by Thomas F. Allen, a 122-page 1¢ COLUMBIAN (Scott US #230) COVERS Pack, 1915 Gilmore Ave., Winona, MN book packed with information helpful to all for eventual exhibit. Early/late uses, multiples 55987 [41-4] postal historians, only $8.00 postpaid for on cover, unusual destinations, fancy cancels, La Posta subscribers G-P Stamp Club, etc. Also collecting 1893 Columbian Expo 7280 Hudson Road, Kent, OH 44240 [41-1] covers & paper ephemera. Send scans, pho- tocopies, or on approval to: Doug Merenda, PO Box 20069, Ferndale, MI 48220-0069 or [email protected] [41-1]

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567 DISPLAY ADS DISPLAY ADS ALASKA COLLECTORS CLUB - 74 JAMES E. LEE - 73 & 74 ARIZONA-NEW MEXICO P. H. S. - 74 ROBERT L. MARKOVITS - 72 MARK BAKER ENTERPRISES - 23 LARRY NEAL - 74 COLORADO POSTAL HIST. SOCIETY - 67 NEW JERSEY POSTAL HISTORY COVERCRAZY2 - 69 SOCIETY - 70 JANE DALLISON - 76 THE PHILATELIC FOUNDATION - 75 MICHAEL DATTOLICO - 68 SCHMITT INVESTORS LTD. - 71 DK ENTERPRISES - 67 LAWRENCE SHERMAN, MD - 70 EXPONET - 76 STEPHEN T. TAYLOR - 71 JIM FORTE - 71 DON TOCHER - 67 FREEMAN’S - 69 US POST OFFICES, VOL 8 CD - 70 JOHN GERMANN, TEXAS POs - 4 WRECK & CRASH MAIL SOCIETY - 71 LA POSTA Backnumbers - 70 & 76 LA POSTA ON-LINE COVER SHOP - 72 Spring 2010 79

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Phone Between 3:00 pm & 10:00 pm PST (011) (61) (2) (6645-1829) Spring 2010 81 The Post Offices of McCreary County, Kentucky

By Robert Rennick The county was named for James Bennett McCreary (1838-1918), a lawyer, Confederate officer, U.S. Con- On March 12, 1912 the Kentucky legislature estab- gressman (1884-1896) and Senator (1902-1911), and lished McCreary, the state’s last county, primarily to twice governor of Kentucky (1875-1879 and 1911- provide accessibility to the county seat. As stated suc- 1915.) cinctly by W.A. Kinne in The Gum Tree Story, his 1929 history of the Stearns Coal and Lumber Com- Till 1880 the area that became McCreary County cen- pany, McCreary was organized to end “the indiffer- tered on one of the Cumberland River’s main branches, ence of its three mother counties—Wayne, Pulaski, the Big South Fork. It was, for the most part, one of and Whitley1to the needs and problems of the Big South the most isolated areas in that section of the country, Fork country, engendered by the long distances from and thus among the least known. Then came their respective county seats.” The enabling act was the Cincinnati and Southern Railroad’s line between introduced in the legislature by William B. Creekmore that city and Chattanooga, Tennessee that, more than of Pine Knot but was opposed by the three counties anything else, was to open this area to economic de- who feared losing valuable tax revenues from the big velopment by providing a fulltime viable outlet for its extractive companies, and by the companies them- resources.2 The county’s second rail line of note was selves, especially Stearns and the Cincinnati New established in 1903 by the Stearns Company as the Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway. Kentucky and Tennessee to ship coal from the company’s satellite mines east to the Stearns connec- tion with the Cincinnati Southern. The line was first 82 Whole Number 241

built to the mouth of Rock Creek, crossed it, and pro- (more or less) centrally located seat Whitley City are ceeded up the creek ultimately to Pickett County, Ten- but Census Designated Places (CDP’s) with fewer nessee. A feeder line was later extended to Bell Farm. than 2,500 residents each. The well dissected and hilly McCreary County, in the Even before the county was established there was a southwest end of the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field, rivalry between Pine Knot and Whitley City (then also has been characterized by McGrain and Currens of known as Coolidge). Pine Knot was the older and bet- the Kentucky Geological Survey as one of ‘cliff-lined ter developed (it then had a bank) place and was cho- gorges and ridges, and resistant rock formations” with sen by the Governor’s Board of Commissioners as several chimney rocks, natural arches, and waterfalls. the county’s temporary seat. But in an election held Over seventy per cent of its land area was acquired on September 7, 1912 to determine the permanent seat, by the federal government for part of the Cumberland Whitley City won by 140 votes. It took almost a year, (now the Daniel Boone) National Forest and, later, for however, for the Pine Knot advocates to accept this. the South Fork River and Recreation Area. This led to When, on1913, the Pine a severe decline in the county’s econo-mic assets as a Knot postmaster was asked by a U.S. Post Office one time leading lumber and coal producer, and ulti- clerk to name the county’s seat she wrote Pine Knot.5 mately to its status as Kentucky’s most impoverished county.3 McCreary’s 427 square mile area (including what’s now in Lake Cumber-land) had a 2005 Census esti- By providing, early on, few tourist inducements, one mated population of 17,233 (thirty seven per cent over of its major objectives, the Cumberland River’s im- its official 1970 count). poundment brought little economic benefit to the county. Neither McCreary, nor the federal government, ini- Post offices will be described below, first by their pre- tially provided “easy access” to the lake, and by the 1912 estab-lishments in each of the mother counties, 1970s, according to L.E. Perry’s McCreary’s Con- followed by those established in McCreary after its quest (1979) most of the lake’s shoreline was still dif- formation. Each office will be located by current road ficult to reach. Only with Congressional establishment, miles from the court house in downtown Whitley City in March 1974, of the 103,000 acre Big South Fork or from a larger or older office in its own area. National River and Recrea-tion Area, authorizing land Seventeen Known Post Offices Established in acquisition and development in Kentucky and Tennes- Pulaski County Before McCreary’s Formation see by the U.S. Corps of Engineers and land manage- ment and utilization by the National Park Service did The earliest of McCreary’s Pulaski County post of- tourism in McCreary County profit.4 fices and one of the three that failed to survive its formation was Telico. William Hyden alone operated Economically, what became and is McCreary County it from November 13, 1855 to September 20, 1859, was primarily depend-ent on timber and coal. By the probably on the Tellico Trail (later the Jacksboro Road) 1830s the Big South Fork area had become the state’s between Smith Shoals and (the present) Kingston, leading coal producer though, through the Civil War, Tennessee. Nothing is known of it, including its pre- mining and ore processing was but a seasonal activity. cise location. Manufacturing, like tourism, came only recently to the county, with textile fabrication by the McCreary Flat Rock, aptly named for a nearby ridge of flat County Manufacturing Company of Eastern Stearns. rocks, was at the site of a prehistoric Indian camp- ground on the Tellico Trail, just south of Indian Creek The county’s greatest accessibility to the rest of the (a 10 ½ mile long Westside branch of the Cumberland region and the state, though, came with the develop- River). Though its post office was established on June ment of its once virtually negligible roads and high- ways, primarily with the improvements to the north- south US 27 and the east-west Ky 90 and 92 While McCreary is Kentucky’s newest county it’s also its only county with no incorporated cities. Its three most populous settlements: Pine Knot, Stearns, and its

from the Willett-Thompson Collection Spring 2010 83

19, 1874, with James Coffy (sic), postmaster, to serve several area coal and lumber companies, its develop- ment as a town awaited the 1880 coming of the Cin- cinnati Southern Railroad where it provided homes and from the other conveniences for its workers. By the turn of the Willett- century it had become the shipping point for the Bar- Thompson ren Fork Coal Company by way of a two mile spur Collection from that firm’s tipple to the main line just south of the railroad station. For all intents, the town’s significance the arrival of the Cincin-nati Southern that year Geary ended with the mine’s closing in 1935, though the post opened the station he called Whitley (probably for office continued on US 27, five miles north of Whitley famed Kentucky pioneer William Whitley) to ship his City, till May 1963. products. Soon the community growing up around the station also took the Whitley name. For a brief time Another post office preceding the arrival of the rail- around the turn of the century it was incorporated, but road was Greenwood, five miles north of Flat Rock. local pressure to reduce taxes ended this and discour- It was established on May 15, 1876 by Henry C. Farris, aged later re-incorporation efforts. When the county the local apiarist, and was soon serving the nearby was created in 1912 its seat was located here as J.C. Crooke and Company coal mine. By the early Whitley City and, on July 20, the post office too took 1880s the railroad had reached the top of a grade just this name. south of the post office site and a work camp called The Summitt was built here for its construction and The town now centers just north of the junction of Ky mainten-ance crews. In 1885 the Beaver Coal Com- 478 and 1651 (old 27), just west of US 27’s new route, pany built a spur from the new Greenwood Station thirty one miles south of Somerset and 106 road miles several miles to its mines on Lick Fork (of Beaver south of downtown Lexington (via US 27). Its official Creek), and within ten years Greenwood was home 2000 population is only 1,111, a decline of some 570 to several more coal and lumber companies. It soon from 1980. became one of the larger timber products ship-ping Three miles south of Greenwood, on the new rail line, points in the entire Cumberland valley. In 1906 the post was its Cumberland Falls Station, the gateway via office was moved nearly half a mile southeast, and by (the present) Ky 90, to the Falls, twelve miles east. the time it closed in 1975 was on US 27, just east of On February 21, 1889 Joe Caldwell Parker, a land the tracks, and ten miles north of Whitley City. speculator who helped attract the railroad through that section, established the local post office as Parkers Lake for the pond recently made by the railroad to supply its locomotives with water. By the mid 1890s the station, post office, and village around them had at least 150 residents and one or more stores to serve several area coal companies. Parker and local store- keeper and tieyard operator Pleasant Patrick (“P.P.” or “robe”) Walker (who was also postmaster from from the Willett-Thompson Collection June 1905 through March 1917) helped to build that stretch of what became Ky. 90 to the Falls. The What became Whitley City is believed to have been Parkers Lake post office still serves this area at the settled sometime before 1835 in the vicinity of the all- junction of Ky 90 and US 27. weather and free-flowing springs at the head of Jen- nies Creek. This land was early patented by George Smith and later sold at public auction to Thomas Mor- row and Middleton B. Holloway. It was soon acquired by Captain John Ambrose Geary, a Lexington busi- nessman and Confederate officer, who began here a lumber business and founded a town inexplicably called Coolidge. The Coolidge post office was established from the Willett- on May 12, 1880 with Holloway as postmaster. After Thompson Collection 84 Whole Number 241

The short-lived (January 31, 1891 to October 5, 1895), two miles east of Mill Creek (earlier called Morgans unlocated, and name underived Toledo post office was Creek.) In 1933 it was moved again, one fourth of a operated solely by James Littleton Jones. According mile along (the present) Ky 896, where, some nine- to his Site Location Report it was 2 ½ southeast of teen miles nne of Whitley City, it was suspended in the Big South Fork, 1½ miles southwest of Cooper early September 1992. Creek (which now joins the Big South Fork at the Pulaski-Wayne-McCreary Counties convergence) and 5 ½ miles southwest of Greenwood. It thus may have been the forerunner of Nevelsville. Between May 7, 1898 and 1933 the Nevelsville post office was on (the present) Ky 927, less than five miles west of the railroad at Parker Lake, and one mile east of the Big South Fork. Its name source, the local store- keeper John W. Nevels (ne ca. 1853), his wife Sarah from the Willett-Thompson Collection A., and Mary Owens were its postmasters. Shortly after the arrival of the Cincinnati Southern, the The aptly named Hillside post office, with John Barren Fork Mining and Coal Company built a spur Hitchcock and Irving Bucklin, postmasters, operated line to its camp and mines above the head of the Bar- between February 11, 1891 and January 8, 1892 at the ren Fork of Indian Creek. On January 18, 1899, to mouth of the Lick Creek of Big South Fork, 1½ miles serve this camp of then close to 500 residents and the below (north of) the Whitley County line and 4 ½ miles company’s offices, store, recreational facilities, tipple, west of (then) Coolidge. and homes (two miles southeast of Flat Rock and four Half an air mile south of Hillside was the post office miles north of the Coolidge post office), the of Hill Top, established by Louis Roberts on Febru- Barrenfork post office (sic) was established by ary 18, 1925 to serve a village of 200 residents on Charles Ross, its first postmaster. In 1923 the another hill overlooking the Big South Fork at company’s office, store, and post office were moved Yamacraw (see below). Storekeeper John H. Bryant some 300 yards north to a point on the ridge overlook- was its first postmaster. When it was suspended in ing the original camp site and mines. The office closed mid September 1977 it was in Bill Winchester’s store on October 31, 1935 when, to avoid unionization, the on Ky 92, five miles west of Whitley City. company ended its operation. The camp closed, the miners left. the tracks were dismantled, and the own- ers later deeded the land to the Cumberland National Forest. Only a cemetery remains to mark the site. On July 1, 1899 Francis Marion Kidd opened a post office just northwest of the head of Mill Creek (earlier known as Morgans Creek, a branch of the Cumberland River) to serve a locality then known as Green Pond. His first (reference Dewey (probably for George Dewey whose Battle of Manila Bay had been fought only fourteen months before) was replaced by Funston from the Willett-Thompson Collection (for one or more late nineteenth century Kentucky families). After several vicinity moves up and down (the present) Rte. 3256, it closed in December 1933. The third Pulaski-McCreary County post office es- William H. (“Billy”) Bryant established the Buzzard tablished in 1891 (on December 14 to be exact), was post office on June 18, 1900 to serve a forest products Thomas W. Sawyer’s name sake. According to his business somewhere in the Indian Creek watershed, a imprecise Site Location Report, the Sawyer post of- couple of miles west of the river and six miles south of fice would be one fourth of a mile from Eagle Creek Cumberland Falls. It closed in mid July 1914. and two miles west of the Cumberland River. In Oc- tober 1899 his successor Willis H. Morgan had it moved two miles north to a point just within Whitley County, Spring 2010 85

To serve what was then the small village of Williams Siding on the Cincinnati Southern, about a mile south of Parkers Lake, Joseph Williams, on March 28, 1902, established the McGuffey post office. It may have been named for Meridy McGuffey (ne June 1864), an area lumber inspector. On July 21, 1906 then post- master Hiram Silvers had its name changed to Indian Head for its site near the head of Indian Creek’s Cogur (sic) Fork (which heads just south of the Day Ridge, from the Willett- nearly one mile west of the railroad tracks). By the Thompson Collection time it closed in mid April 1927 the area between Parkers Lake and Flat Rock was also being served by From 1885 coal was being shipped to the Cincinnati the Wiborg post office, about a mile south of Indian Southern at Greenwood from a site on Beaver Creek’s Head. (see below). Lick Fork by way of the Beaver Coal Company’s newly built Beaver Creek and Cumberland River Rail- road. In 1891 the line was renamed the Greenwood Railway, and on November 21, 1907, the company opened a post office in its camp commissary, less than a mile northwest of the rail head.6 The office was called Bauer [bay/uhr, locally bear] for James A. Bauer, re- cently arrived from Indiana. Gavin L. Dudley, the com- missary manager and the first postmaster, was suc- from the Willett-Thompson Collection ceeded on June 4, 1909 by Bauer himself. After the mining operation ended in 1910 the vici-nity was ac- The little recalled and short-lived Noxubee [nahx/yuh/ quired by the Bauer Cooperage Company of Indiana bee] post office has not been precisely located. An- which made barrel staves of locally cut white oak tim- other in what was to become McCreary but which ber. The office closed on August 15, 1924, and in 1933 had closed before the county’s organization, it was the site’s then owner W.H. O’Brien sold it to the fed- established in Whitley County on April 14, 1902 by eral government and it’s now a part of the Beaver Harry George Spangler who located it, in his Site Lo- Creek Wildlife Manage-ment Area. Nothing marks the cation Report, three miles west of the Cumberland site.7 River, half a mile north of Eagle Creek and 3 ½ miles In addition to the above at least four other Pulaski south of Sawyer. In June 1904 it was moved by John County post offices (Guyon, Flynn, Harvest, and S. Richardson an unrevealed distance to a point some Frisco) may have either operated within what became sixty six yards within Pulaski County, one mile north McCreary County or at least been authorized to do of Eagle Creek, two miles south of Sawyer, and four so. miles north of Honeybee. Here it closed in mid Octo- ber 1911. Whence its name? Could it have been named Nine Known Post Offices Established in Wayne for the eighty mile long Mississippi-Alabama stream County Before McCreary’s Formation that joins the Tombigbee River near Gainesville, Ala- The earliest of McCreary’s Wayne County offices was 5 bama. According to William A. Read’s Indian Place Rock Creek, somewhere on the twenty seven mile Names in Alabama, 1937, this was so named before long stream that extends between Pickett County, Ten- the American Revolution for the Choctaw “strong nessee and the Big South Fork near Yamacraw. The smelling water”. stream, so identified in Wayne County’s enabling act When storekeeper Jasper M. Harp found his name in of December 13, 1800, was named for the many rocks use in Franklin County, he opened his office, on Sep- on its banks. The office was established on March 17, tember 21, 1905 as Honeybee for the wild swarm 1865 with John Lewellen, postmaster, but closed on observed in a nearby woods. Till it closed in 1977 the July 23, 1869. It was re-established on March 27, 1872, office had been at two locations on (the present) Ky with Marcus Foster, postmaster, and closed again in 90, seven to eight miles east of Parkers Lake and about mid December 1873. It was again re-established on four miles west of the river at Cumberland Falls. October 17, 1892 with Lenora F. Bell, postmaster, some 86 Whole Number 241

eleven miles up Rock Creek. in 1912 William S. Gre- the Oz Station survived till the railroad was abandoned gory had it moved three fourths of a mile down the in 1952, and the last Oz mine shut down at the end of creek to a point four miles west of the Kentucky and the following year. Tennessee Railway’s then western terminus at Exo- Another short-lived (February 10, 1890 to mid Decem- dus (see below). Here it closed on April 30, 1914. ber 1893) but un-located post office whose postmas- The office was again re-es- ters Joseph Riley Sweet and his wife Rebecca would tablished, on February 17, have called Roberts for their neighbors, operated in- 1925, a short distance down- stead as the unexplained Banocks. stream, as Bell Farm. Here, On June 30, 1890 the Rev. Grant Roberts established at the site of the pioneer a post office in his store just east of the Little South Rock Creek Bell family’s Fork. He would call it Powder Spring but it operated farm, was one of the coal till 1977 as Slavans [slay/vuhnz], the name of a well towns established by the established pioneer Wayne County family whose name Stearns Coal and Lumber was variously spelled Slavan, Slavin, Slevin, Slavy, Company, and, by 1921, the from the Willett- Slavans, Slevins, and Slavey.10 The post office sur- western terminus of the Thompson Collection vived for a year the closing of the longtime local store company’s twenty mile long on Ky 92, half a mile from the creek and the (now) Kentucky and Tennessee Railway.8 James C. Ander- Wayne County line. son, its first postmaster, was succeeded in 1931 by Oren Spradlin who maintained it till it closed on June 30, 1975. Another Rock Creek post office was the short-lived (June 9, 1875 to July 7, 1876) but as yet unlocated Bellville maintained by and probably named for George W. Bell. Some 2 ½ miles up Rock Creek were two post offices established by and for the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company. The vicinity was first called Paint Cliff for from the Willett-Thompson Collection its colorful rock formations, and this name was as- sumed by the local coal company. Sometime before Then there was the short-lived and apparently much 1907 the company and its mines were acquired by relocated post office of Alum which may have oper- Stearns and in that year the site was reached by the ated in both the Pulaski and Wayne County sections Stearns’ new K&T Railway. To serve their operations of what became McCreary. According to first post- and the 200 resident camp being built, R.L. Stearns master Lizzie Seller’s first known Site Location Re- opened , on March 29, 1907, the Oz post office. It’s port (December 4, 1899) this office may have been in said that this name was chosen, some six years after Pulaski County, one fourth of a mile west of the Big the publication of Frank Baum’s first Oz book, for its South Fork, one eighth of a mile north of Allum creek brevity and that it couldn’t be misspelled or mispro- (sic) and six miles northwest of Coolidge. According nounced.9 Three postmasters—Isaac M. Blevins, Will- to the Post Office Register, though, the post office iam P. Upchurch, and Eli W. Martin—maintained this was established by Lizzie Sellers on March 23, 1900 office through April 1914 when it closed. in Wayne County, but by December of that year she had moved it four miles east to Pulaski County to serve On March 7, 1918 the office a village of fifty residents, one fourth of a mile east of was re-established as the fork, just west of the railroad, and 14 miles north Paintcliff. Its first postmas- of Coolidge. In November 1901 Lizzie had it moved ter Wayne Chambers was again, one half mile west, into Wayne County, two miles succeeded in October 1919 west of the fork, on Alum Creek, and seven miles west by Oz’s last postmaster Mar- of Coolidge to serve a village of 100 residents.11 tin, the local K&T station agent. Though the office On June 28, 1902 she was succeeded by Nannie Sell- closed for good in May 1932 from the Willett- ers who ran it till it closed in March 1903.12 Thompson Collection Spring 2010 87

According to Doctor P. Sellers’ first Site Location One guest, on an extended stay, is said to have be- Report, his new post office Freedom, to serve that come quite concerned when his horse, seemingly well locality, would be at a site on the south side of the fed, kept getting progressively thinner. He discovered Little South Fork (that part of Wayne County that be- Katie’s deception and soon spread the word of her came a part of McCreary on its organization). Since perfidy up and down the highway. Her inn soon came his name choice was then in use in Barren County he to be called Katie’s Pine Knot, and, after her death, opened his office on December 26, 1906 as the the Pine Knot Inn.13 underived Lorena. Yet, according to Sellers’ Site Lo- A post office was established in this vicinity on June cation Report of August 1, 1912 (just after McCreary’s 19, 1874 with James H. Wilson, postmaster, and it too organization), his office was 100 yards west of the was called Pine Knot, though the small settlement it Little South Fork and not in the new county. Later in served may also have been called High Point. It closed August Sellers was succeeded as postmaster by B.F. on November 22, 1878 and was re-opened on July 25, Black and the office closed on October 31, 1913. 1879 in postmaster John Harmon’s store as Commer- Sixteen Post Offices Established in Whitley cial Summit; but on December 21, 1887 James B. County Before McCreary’s Formation Vickers had the Pine Knot name restored. By this time the rail- The earliest post office to serve what became road had ar- McCreary County was established on April 9, 1829 as rived, and by Big South Fork. It was on the Pulaski County side 1900 the Pine of that stream, just opposite the mouth of Rock Creek, Knot station and north of the Wayne-Whitley-Pulaski Counties con- had become a vergence. Michael Castillo, its first postmaster, was major shipping succeeded on August 17, 1832 by William K. Beaty. point for area By then it was in Whitley County. But it closed in late lumber mills, November 1835, and the area was not to be served with the com- from the Willett-Thompson Collection again till the establishment of Yamacraw in November munity grow- 1905 (see below). ing up there boasting at least half a dozen general stores, The second post office to serve the future county was a hotel, churches, a school, and other businesses. Its Marsh Creek. This was on the aptly named twenty strategic location on the railroad and at the junction of three mile long Cumberland River branch heading what was to become US 27 (a major north-south route about half a mile within Tennessee’s Scott County. The from Lexington to Tennessee and Ky 92 (the main office was established on January 26, 1858, with Wil- road between Williamsburg and Monticello) gave it a liam W. Hubbard, postmaster, just below the mouth of great potential for industrial and commer-cial growth. Murphy Creek, two miles from the Tennessee line, It soon became Whitley (Coolidge)’s rival in all things and about 2 ½ miles east of the site of the later Strunk and, in 1912, was an unsuccessful contender for the post office. It was discontinued in July 1863, re-estab- new county’s seat. It too was incorporated (in 1913) lished on June 20, 1866 in postmaster but, like Whitley City, this condi-tion was short-lived. John Wood’s store, and discontinued again in August Though its potential was never realized, the town, 5 ½ 1898. William Hayes had it re-established a second miles (via new 27) south of Whitley City, is the county’s time on June 7, 1907. In 1913 it may have been moved largest with an active post office and a 2000 popula- 1 ½ miles downstream to a site one mile west of Ashton, tion of 1,680. but this is not certain. In any event, it closed at the end The post office of Holly Hill, named for the abun- of 1914. dance of such trees in the Cumberland watershed, was Katie Branham’s inn was a favorite of antebellum trav- at a number of sites in the area between Marsh Creek elers on the old toll road between Lexington and and Pleasant Run. Its location when it was estab-lished Jacksboro, Tennessee. According to tradition, though, on August 3, 1876 (with John L. Davis, postmaster) is when someone would stop to spend some time there not known. But by 1890 it’s believed to have been Katie customarily would ask him how many ears of about half a mile east of Marsh Creek at or near the corn he wanted to feed his horse. Whatever he said site of the later Ashton, and was soon serving several was what she’d charge him. But, in fact, it was mostly area stores and a population of about 100. For awhile pine knots that she’d drop in the horse’s feeding trough. (ca. 1907) it may have been on Pleasant Run, two 88 Whole Number 241

cessible by a twelve mile long road (now a part of Ky 90) east from the new railroad’s Cumberland Falls Station at Parkers Lake. The first post office to serve the falls, its hotel, and that section of the Cumberland valley, then also known as the Great Falls, was es- tablished on July 19, 1880, on the west side of the river, as Devil Shoals, with Socrates’ wife Nannie its first post-master. On April 12, 1881 she had the name from the Willett-Thompson Collection changed to Cumberland Falls. After twenty years it closed, but was re-established, also as Cumberland Falls, on June 25, 1902. It was now on the east side of miles east of its Ashton site and just beyond the fu- the river to serve the guests of postmaster Henry C. ture county line. By 1912, though, it was one fourth of Brunson’s inn. On August 29, 1916 it was moved back a mile within the new McCreary County. After sev- to the west side of the river, now in McCreary County eral more area moves it ended on (the present) Ky 92, by new postmaster Rae Chesney.14 just west of the Pleasant Run School (gone) and church, 7 ½ miles east of Pine Knot, where it was In 1930 a half million dollar gift from the late Dela- suspended on May 1, 1984, a month before the closing ware senator (and Louisville, Kentucky native) of the local store. Coleman T. DuPont created a 500 acre state park around the Cumberland and several other area falls. The Ashton post office, named for a local family, was In 1942 the post office, then on Ky 90, 300 feet west established by George W. Lovett on June 5, 1901 and of the river, and fourteen miles northwest of Whitley occupied at least two sites, 1 ½ to two miles west and City, was discontinued. By 1983 the park had become south of Holly Hill, till it closed in December 1913. a 1,794 acre state resort park in the Daniel Boone The Cumberland Falls, by far the largest and most National Forest with camping facilities and a year-round impressive in Kentucky, and considered by many “the lodge named for the senator. In that year 1,294 acres Niagara of the South” was, in the earliest settlement of the park were dedicated as a state nature preserve. times, in pioneer land speculator Andrew Craig’s 2,000 George W. Strunk, the storekeeper descendant of a acre grant between the lower ends of the Indian and large family that had acquired land on area creeks Eagle Creeks. before the Civil War, gave their name to a station on Its sixty eight foot drop into a rocky gorge has been, the Cincinnati Southern midway between Pine Knot since the 1850s, a major tourist attraction. Its first and the Tennessee line. The station was called Strunks vistors’ accommodation, a log cabin, was opened in Lane and to serve it, on February 18, 1892 the Strunks 1850. In 1875 this was replaced by Socrates Owens’ Lane post office was established, with James H. Cumberland Falls Hotel, soon to be made more ac- Pemberton, postmaster. On May 5, 1894 the Lane was dropped, and as simply Strunk the office has served that vicinity at several sites (cur- rently at the junction of old 27 and Ky. 1470, just east of new 27, and two miles south of Pine Knot). Shortly after the turn of the century the local rail station took the name Silerville (probably for Bill Siler of another area family.) On August 13, 1907 James C. Walker opened the Silerville post office one mile south- east of the Strunk post office and Silerville Station to serve the camp and office of the West Jellico Coal Company. By then Louie E. Bryant’s Strunks Lane Coal Company was also from the Willett-Thompson Collection shipping its product from the Silerville Spring 2010 89

such an office, postmaster-designator James H. Swain gave it his family name and maintained it from May 11, 1900 through June 1901. It was re-established, also from the as Swain, by George E. Swain on April 28, 1925. When Willett- Thompson it closed in January 1934 its name died with it and area Collection folks now refer to the site as Bethel.

Station. The Silerville post office, though, lasted only till mid February 1915 when its papers were trans-ferred to Strunk. To further confuse postal his- torians the names Strunk and Silerville have been used interchangeably for the same community. A second Marsh Creek post office was Lay Ford operated by store-keeper Berry B. Lay from June 6, from the Willett-Thompson Collection 1892 through August 1902. According to his Site Lo- cation Reports it was one mile northwest of Holly Hill and four miles below (northeast of) the Marsh Creek A site about 2 ½ miles south of what would become post office. The area’s Lay family were probably de- Coolidge (Whitley City) was settled in 1840 by Riley scendants of the Rev. William Lay (1809-1907). and Bailey Sellers and first called Hemlock probably for the local trees. In 1901 some 500 vicinity acres From January 31, 1893 to mid January of the follow- between the Cincinnati Southern Railway and what ing year Embry K. (“Uncle Ek”) Creekmore ran a would become US 27 (now Rte. 1651), were purchased post office half a mile or so above the head of Hayes or leased from then owner and coal operator Louie E. Creek (a Marsh Creek tributary) and just above the Bryant by the Streans Coal and Lumber Company. head of Rock Creek of Jellico. He named it for him- This was a firm owned by and named for New York- self and his wife Mandy, the vicinity’s first settlers. It born Justus Smith Stearns, then of Ludington, Michi- was re-established on March 2, 1911 by his brother gan. By the summer of 1903 the company had founded Alexander Z. Creekmore a mile down Hayes Creek, and laid out the Stearns mining town and located its 15 on (the present) Ky 1470, 2 ½ miles south of Ky 92. offices in the railroad’s Hemlock yard and siding. The It closed for good in 1968 on the death of its last post- station soon took the Stearns name and shortly be- master, Ek’s daughter-in-law. came a major rail shipping point. A post office, also as Stearns, was established on December 29, 1902 in the Company’s newly opened commissary building, with John Emil Bergelin, its first postmaster. On May 22, 1902 the Stearns company chartered its standard gauge Kentucky and Tennessee Railroad (later re-incorporated as Railway) as a shipping and passenger spur from what would be several satellite mining towns west and south of Stearns to its junction 17 from the Willett-Thompson Collection with the Southern. In 1903 the country’s first electri- cally-powered sawmill was built in Stearns giving rise to the largest timber processing operation in Kentucky. Somewhere south of Holly Hill and 2 ½ miles east of By the late 1920s the wholly owned company town Marsh Creek was the short-lived (February 2, 1893 to had some 2,000 residents, with over half working in September 27, 1894) and unexplained Ample post of- area mines and processing plants, and a million tons of fice maintained by Elizabeth G. Lovitt and Sarah E. coal were being shipped annually from the Stearns sta- 16 Smith. tion. West of Marsh Creek and some six miles ene of Pine In short, till the early 1950s the town was the center of Knot would have been the Bethel post office, named a vast empire of some 130,000 acres of timber and for the local church. But as Bath County already had coal land, mostly in McCreary County but also in adja- 90 Whole Number 241

cent Kentucky and Tennessee counties. But by the (and not Lone- mid 1950s the sawmill had closed and in 1960 the some, the first county’s local holdings were sold to their occupants name proposed for and several private utility firms. In 1975 the company’s it) was given. It’s coal operations were acquired by the Blue Diamond that of a tribe of ren- Coal Company of Knoxville, Tennessee as the Stearns egade Creek Indi- Mining Company. ans living at what later became the Today, the town with its active post office on Ky 1651 city of Savannah (old 27) and 92, one mile west of the new 27 routeway, from the Willett-Thompson Collection and had been that serves some 1,580 resi-dents (second in population to Georgia settlement’s Pine Knot). By the 1990s the Stearns Historical Area first name. There’s no basis for the belief that the Development Authority and the county’s Heritage McCreary town’s name honored the chief of the al- Foundation were restoring old buildings and maintain- leged corn-cultivating Comargo tribe who had brought ing a museum and archives to preserve and interpret his people to this site after the Treaty of Sycamore the company’s and town’s early history. Shoals in 1775. Anyhow, the post office closed in mid March 1950 and coal production ceased shortly there- after. Nothing remains at the site just south of (the present) Ky 92, 44 miles west of Stearns. The next Stearns town and station was Worley [wirl/ ee], named for area families, at the mouth of the Big South Fork’s one mile long Worley Branch, 14 miles south of Yamacraw. By the time its post office was established , on August 28, 1906 (with Charles E. Mustard, post-master), it had become a village of some from the Willett-Thompson Collection 500 residents and would serve three Stearns area mines. The office extended through October 1953. The first coal town built by the Stearns company and the first station (completed in May 1903) on its Ken- tucky and Tennessee Railway, 3½ rail miles wsw of Stearns, was Barthell [bahr/thehl]. It was named for Edward E. Barthell, a Nashville and Chicago attorney who did much of the legal work involved in the company’s acquisition of large tracts of Kentucky and Tennessee coal and timber land. By the time its post office opened, on May 4, 1905, with Fred A. Cain, from the Willett-Thompson Collection postmaster, the town had some 300 residents. But the mine was abandoned and the town “dis-mantled” in Post Offices Established in McCreary County 1952 and its post office ceased operation on June 30, After Its Formation: Those Serving Other 1953. In 2000 then property owner Harold “Sonny” Stearns Coal Towns on the K&T Koger restored the mine and camp facilities as a living In late 1913 the K&T, extending up Rock Creek, museum. reached a site some six miles west of the Big South From Barthell the KU extended for a mile to the Big Fork then called Difficulty. Here an-other Stearns coal South Fork, then down that stream for another 2 ¾ town was set up to serve its Mine Number 14, and on miles to a point opposite the mouth of Rock Creek, a January 13, 1916 (with James L. Estes, postmaster), a locality that may have been called Lonesome. Here, post office was established as Exodus.18 in 1905, the Stearns Company founded its mining town It’s said to have been named for its being the end of of Yamacraw and opened its K&T station as Rock the K&T line, its last station (sic) till 1921 when the Creek. The Yamacraw [yaem/uh/kraw] post office, tracks were extended three more miles to Bell Farm. with James Rufus Sparks, postmaster, opened in the On November 15th the post office closed. Nothing is depot on September 2nd. It’s not known why this name there now. Spring 2010 91

Around 1916 Stearns opened Fork National River and Recreation Area and it soon its Fidelity Mines [fah:/ became reachable by a six mile long privately oper- deh1/uh/tee] on Rock Creek, ated scenic railway from Stearns. about a mile east of Exodus, and set up its camp and KU station in this name. But its post office was established on July 26, 1920 as Shoopman for the company from the Willett- store manager and postmas- Thompson Collection ter-designate James A. Shoopman (1891-1961). The office closed in late April 1939, and nothing marks the site now. from the Willett-Thompson Collection In 1921 a K&T spur was extended 1 1/3 miles up Post Offices Serving Other Coal Towns White Oak Creek from the main line at White Oak A Mr. Wiborg from New York arrived in the area be- Junction to serve what was to become the second larg- tween Parkers Lake and Flat Rock in the 1890s and est of the Stearns coal towns. The town and its post with a Mr. Hanna initiated coal and timber production office, established on September 8, 1922 in the com- near the head of Koger Creek. Though the coal op- pany store with its manager Lee L. Craig as postmas- eration all but ended before the First World War, a ter, were named Co-operative for the local mining Wiborg [weye/bergh] post office was established on operation was a cooperative effort of a number of February 2, 1915 to serve a Southern Railway station employees who had acquired company stock. The mine near the junction of (the present) US 27 and Ky 1045, ceased operation in 1950 when it was no longer eco- six miles north of Whitley City (via new 27), with nomically feasible to continue. In 1963 the post office Hurchel E. Thurman, postmaster. By 1970 it was still was moved up (by then) Rte. 1363 to a country store serving some 300 residents, but it closed in September where it was suspended in early January 1980. 1988.

from the Willett-Thompson Collection from the Willett-Thompson Collection In 1937 another K&T spur was extended one mile up In 1906 Messrs. Coleman, Marlow, and Gorman, op- (south) the Big South Fork from its junction with the erating as the Comargo [kuh/mahrgh /oh] Coal Com- main line at Comargo, and two rail miles southwest of pany, opened a mining camp in that name opposite the Barthell. It would serve Stearns’ last mine (#18) that mouth of the Big South Fork’s Roaring Paunch Creek, had opened that year as Blue Heron. Depending on 1 ½ miles south of Worley and less than a mile below who you ask, the mine, its camp, and later its post (north of) the later Blue Heron. To serve it a station office, were named for the local birds or a brand of on the KU and a post office were established as coal.19 LaColeman [luh/kohl/muhn] for Clarence Coleman, Perhaps both. The post office was not established until one of the partners. The office operated, with James July 19, 1946 in the company store with store man- G. Vinsant, its first postmaster, only from March 19, ager W.A. Pryor the first of its two postmasters. The 1920 through September 1928 when a flood nearly mine and camp were abandoned in 1962 and the post wiped out the camp and the surrounding area. Though office was closed in mid February 1963. In 1988 the the Stearns Company later acquired the site the mine Corps of Engineers restored the camp as an “inter- never re-opened. pretive museum” for its 100,000 plus acre Big South 92 Whole Number 241

To serve the Premier Coal Company operations about a mile up Wolf Creek (a westside Big South Fork branch) Rachel Slavan opened, on August 28, 1920, the Benelli [Buh/nehl/ee] post office. It was named for the Italian-born-Vony Benelli (1890-1975), a re- cent McCreary County arrival who, till the 1950s, ran a confectionary and sand-wich shop for Stearns. The office closed at the end of April 1935 and nothing now marks the site.20 Other McCreary County Post Offices Serving Rail Stations from the Willett-Thompson Collection Nearly 1 ½ miles north of Whitley City, at the junction established in the depot on June 6, 1931 with station of Ky 700 (the Alum Road) and 1651 (old US 27), is agent Homer Hamlin, its postmaster. It closed in Au- Marshes Siding. To serve this Southern Railway sid- gust 1949. ing and the community around it storekeeper William Other McCreary County Post Offices P. Upchurch established its still active post office on May 13, 1924. It may have been named for Smith Two post offices—Usona and Dogwood—may have Marsh from whose local mill area timber products were served the Sandy Hill area west of the lower reaches shipped by rail. of Marsh Creek, southeast of Barren Fork, but their sites are still undetermined. Unsona, whose name source also remains unknown22, was established on August 1, 1918 with Elias C. Bryant, postmaster, but closed at the end of January 1927. It was re-estab- lished on September 19, 1928 by Laura S. Bryant but closed for good in mid June 1936. According to Mrs. Bryant’s Site Location Report it was 12 miles west of Marsh Creek. The Dogwood post office was maintained from June 29, 1939 through July 1941 by Leslie Bryant to serve from the Willett-Thompson Collection the Sand Hill locality a mile south of Indian Creek. (This and/or Unsona may have been on the present The village of Revelo [rehv/uh/loh] with a Southern Ky 700.) Railway station and an active post office centers near the junction of Ky 92 (1651 or old US 27) and Ky 742, just south of Stearns. The post office was established on June 29, 1928 with William B. White, postmaster. His first proposed name White Fork was replaced by that of a Mr. Oliver, the engineer in charge of the railroad’s construction through that section. Yet, from the outset, and for reasons that remain unexplained, the spelling of his name was reversed and an “e” was substituted for the “I”.21 Another possible name source from the Willett-Thompson Collection was the Oliver Brothers, Pine Knot area business-men. Some 3 ½ miles up Rock Creek, at its confluence At two sites on (the present) Ky 90, five miles east of with the four mile long, aptly named White Oak Creek Parkers Lake (and US 27), and some 3 ½ to four miles was the small settlement of White Oak. When the west of Honeybee, was Beerock. This probably aptly KU extended a spur line a mile up White Oak to its named post office was established on April 19, 1921 new mine and camp at Cooperative the site became with Walter R. Clark, its first postmaster, and contin- White Oak Junction. A post office in this name was ued through February 1943. Spring 2010 93

From September 7, 1922 through October 1929 Ethel and name underived) was authorized on October 17, (Mrs. John D.) Manning maintained the Caylor post 1922, with Austin B. Kidd, postmaster, but never op- office, probably at or near the junction of Ky 92 and erated. 592 in the Marsh Creek valley, some five miles east of Twenty one offices were named for local/area per- Pine Knot. It was named for a Wayne-McCreary fam- sons or families, and three honored well-known non- ily, perhaps for J.C. Caylor, a “court’s trustee” for the local persons. One may have been named for a dis- newly established (1912) county, or for Will H. Caylor tant place, and to ten were transferred the names of (ne 1883), a Whitley City lawyer. local or nearby features (six streams, a falls, an inn, a The local Smith trail, and a lake). Eleven had geographic, descriptive, Family, perhaps or locative names. Two were inspired by local eco- Crit Smith, large nomic activities. Blue Heron had two possible name landowner and sources. Another office may have been named for a store-keeper when popular book, and one had a Scriptural source. Eight this area was still a names have not yet been derived and eight offices part of Whitley have not been precisely located. County, gave their Eleven offices had names that were not the first pro- name to the village posed for them. Eighteen served communities, neigh- and post office of from the Willett-Thompson borhoods, landings, and localities with other names. Smithtown, cen- Collection Five offices had name changes during their operation. tered at the junction of (the present) Ky 92 and 791, two miles west of Endnotes Stearns. The post office was established on May 20, 1. Of McCreary’s 406 square miles, 151 were taken from Pulaski 1922 with James W. Worley, postmaster. When it closed County, 143 from Whitley County, and 112 from Wayne County. in June 1976 it had been serving some 500 residents, a 2. The movement of goods by the Cumberland River barges had store, and one of McCreary’s six elementary schools. been possible only at high tide. According to Stearns executive In 1897 a New Jersey man, Martin Wells Knapp, seek- Frank Thomas, in his August 7, 1980 letter to the author, a very rugged terrain necessi-tated much tunneling for track layout, so ing a place for a mission many tunnels in fact that the stretch between Somerset and Stearns school and church, ac- was called “The Rat Hole”. quired from Thomas Tay- 3. McCreary County can hardly be considered an agricultural lor a deed to some land on county since little of its land has ever been arable. By the time the the plateau overlooking Feds arrived on the scene only 13,000 acres of county land was Indian Creek from the non-forested. north. Here was estab- 4. One third of this area’s total acreage is in McCreary County. lished the Beulah Moun- 5. After the November 18, 1951 court house fire and with Whitley 23 from the Willett-Thompson tain Childrens Home. City’s accumulated debts owing to an obligation to fund the con- Collection From its establishment on struction of US 27 through its area, there was some local talk February 13, 1929, with J. about returning McCreary to its original counties along with a call Thomas Johnson, postmaster, till its suspension in early to remove the seat to Pine Knot. But neither move was successful. (cf Paul Hughes, Louisville Courier-Journal, February 17, 1952, April, 1995, the school, home, and local church were P. 4) served by the Beulah Heights post office on (the present) Rte. 1045, five miles northeast of Whitley City. 6. After the organization of McCreary County, the Bauer post office was but 100 feet from the Pulaski line and seven miles Conclusion northeast of Green-wood. 7. Data on the Beaver Creek Coal Company and its Bauer camp Of McCreary’s fifty nine operating post offices, seven and post office came from L.E. Perry’s McCreary Conquest (1979, (Whitley City, Marshes Siding, Parkers Lake, Pine P. 4) and letters from area resident James C. McDowell Jr., Janu- Knot, Revelo, Stearns, and Strunk are active. At least ary 27 and February 5, 1981. twenty five were the foci of population concentrations 8. At this point, according to Elmer Sulzer’s Ghost Railroads of while the other served at least a country store, land- Kentucky (P. 213), the K&T was joined by the twenty five mile ing, church, and school. One office, Sipher (unlocated long Stearns-owned narrow gauge log carrier that followed the creek from a point northeast of Jamestown, Tennessee. 9. However, according to Dr. Frank Thomas, a later Stearns execu- tive, it was. 94 Whole Number 241 10. Richard Harve Slaven ,ne ca. 1800 and probably the family’s References Wayne County progenitor, lived in the Elk Springs valley and later on the Big South Fork’s No Business Creek (in Tennessee). His 1. Chitwood, John C. of Danville, Ky., interviewed by the Slavinsky forbears are said to have come to America from a Slavic- author on June 22, 1978 speaking country. 2. Cumberland Falls entries in the Kentucky Encyclope- 11. Lizzie had first intended to move her Alum post office to dia, Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992, Marshes Siding, a mile north of Coolidge, but decided against it. Pp. 246, 897 12. The Alum name, suggesting the local presence of one or more 3. Dickinson, William K. on the Big South Fork National such minerals, was applied to several Wayne and McCreary County River and Recreation Area in the Kentucky Encyclo- features. Besides the 3 ¾ mile long Big South Fork branch and the Alum Cave near the confluence (both so identified on Luke pedia, P. 77 Munsell’s 1818 map), an Allum Cave Hollow, off the creek, was 4. Kinne, W.A. The Gum Tree Story, privately printed, noted on later nineteenth century maps. Then there was Alum 1929 (passim) Ford, a noted Big South Fork cross-ing, which fell victim to the Cumberland’s impoundment, closing a main road between the two 5. McCreary County Record, 50th Anniversary Issue, South Forks and thus isolating a large area. Now that vicinity is July 3, 1962, I, II, II (passim) served by the Alum Ford Boat Ramp and Campsite, maintained 6. McDowell, James C., Jr. of Burnside, Ky., letters to the by the U.S. Forest Service at the end of Ky 700, half a mile south author, January 27 and February 5, 1981 of the Alum Creek-Big South Fork confluence. 7. McGrain, Preston and James C. Currens, Topography 13. This story was shared with me by Smith G. Ross of Pine Knot. He featured it in his book Come Go With Me (1977, Pp. 95- of Kentucky, Lexington: Kentucky Geological Sur- 96). It earlier appeared in William E. Barton’s history of the com- vey, Series X, 1978, Special Publi-cation 25, P. 59 munity and later in my From Red Hot to Monkey’s Eyebrow (1997, 8. Osinski, Bill, “The Coal’s Over There Yet,” Louisville Pp. 29-30). Courier Journal, February 15, 1981, Pp. B1,B6 14. According to a 1926 Site Location Report, Mrs. Chesney may 9. Perry, L.E. McCreary Conquest: A Narrative History, have had the office returned to Whitley County but if so it was for Whitley City, Ky., 1979 (passim) only a very short time, for in 1927 it was back in McCreary County. 10. Perry, Samuel D. South Fork Country, Detroit, Mi: Harlo, 1983 (passim) 15. Alexander’s first choice Hays (sic), for the creek, was in use in Breathitt County, 11. Rennick, Robert M. Kentucky Place Names, Lexing- ton: University Press of Kentucky, 1984 16. Lovitt was the first name proposed for this office. 12. Ross, Smith of Pine Knot, Ky., interviewed by the 17. The Hemlock name was long preserved in the K&T’s freight author on June 22, 1978 facility 13. Smith, Burris of Pine Knot, Ky., interviewed by the and repair shops in Stearns town. author on June 22, 1978 18. Difficulty, the first name proposed for this office, was appar- 14. Sulzer, Elmer, Ghost Railroads of Kentucky, India- ently napolis, In, 1967, Pp. 216-18 unacceptable to the Post Office Department. 15. Thomas, Frank C. of Stearns, Ky., letters to the au- 19. The Stearns Company is said to have used bird names like thor, January 29, 1979 and August 7, 1980 Golden Eagle, Scarlet Tanager, and Blue Heron to grade their coal. 16. Ibid., on McCreary County in the Kentucky Encyclo- 20. Some, like Perry’s Conquest, spell it Buelli, its spelling on pedia, Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, the 1934 Barthell 15 minute topographic map. 1992, Pp. 594-95 21. Another case of a name reversal with a “slight alteration” is 17. United States Post Office Department, Site Location Revillo, a Grant County, South Dakota place named for J.S. Oliver, Reports— McCreary County, Ky. Post Offices, Na- another railroad man. (According to Edward Ehrensperger’s South tional Archives (Washington, D.C.) Dakota Place Names, Vermillion: University of South Dakota, 1941) 18. Ross, Smith G. Come, Go With Me, Pine Knot, Ky: Kentucky Hills Industries, Inc., 1977 (passim) 22. Could it have been a “take off” of Usona, from the United States of North America, a name once proposed for our country, and in 1913 was applied to a Mariposa County, Colorado post office? 23. Isaiah (62.4) applied the name Beulah to the land to be given to the Children of Israel after their return from exile; it connotes a much anticipated future paradise, a land of peace and content- ment. Spring 2010 95

A Small Selection of Postal History Items from the Collection of Richard W. Helbock Offered on a Private Treaty Basis

Item 1 St. Augustine Florida illustrated Florida House hotel cover to New Jersey franked with pair of #145. Some edge wear and torn top back flap. Price: $35.00 postpaid. 96 Whole Number 241

Item 2. Pendleton, Oregon, 1917 , multicolored Pendleton Round-Up cover with enclosure to Portland. Franked 3- cent purple paying war rate. Price $90.00 post paid Spring 2010 97

Item 3. Chicago Northwestern Tube station, 1911, duplex on PPC. Price $95.00 post paid

Item 4. Omaha Northwestern School of Taxidermy, 1935, multicolor tiger advertising cover. Price $85.00 post paid. 98 Whole Number 241

Item 5 Stella, Washington, 1894, DCDS with bar grid killer on 3-cent green entire and letter. $85.00 post paid Spring 2010 99

Item 6 Cowlitz, Washington Territory, 1856, manuscript on cover to Massachusetts franked with pen-cancekked 10 cent Washington imperf. This waas the original Cowlitz post office established about a mile south of present day Toledo in April 1854. It moved and renamed Toledo in 1880. Letters from two people on same lettersheet accompanies. Price $475.00 post paid 100 Whole Number 241

OF'F'ICE OF BROWN BROS. & CO. ,1!\T' ~rtgaq ¢un'lVoaltq :$ills. 24 &. 26 SANSOME STREET.

Item 7 San Francisco 1878, Wells Fargo blue oval on franked cover endorsed Per “City of Chester” to Roseburg, Oregon. Coastal steamship service. $175.00 Spring 2010 101

Item 8 San Francisco 1882, duplex cancels 3-cent green entire endorsed Per “State of California” to Roseburg, Oregon. Coastal steamship service. $145.00 102 Whole Number 241

Item 9 Mount Coffin, Washington, 1894, Cowlitz County, 1872-1895. Price $235.00 Spring 2010 103

Item 10 COSTILLA, Taos Co., New Mexico, 1882, triple cds with star-in-star killer on GPC with DAYTON, OHIO Leavitt machine as receiving mark. Price $265.00

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